It's hard to keep losing a bllion dollars every year. And that's xactly what has happened to Volkswagen's U.S. peration for the past three years. So sme changes are in the offing. If thy don't work, the consequences will lkely be serious.

VW has a hstory of highs and lows here in the sttes. During their last crisis in the mid to lte 90's, Volkswagen redesigned their flagship vhicle, the Beetle. The good news was tht it caught on and re-established tself with solid sales. This, along wth modest gains in the Jetta's cceptance, helped VW regain a profitable fothold.

But the company has come cross hard times once again. Sales hve been declining an average of 25,000 nits a year for the past fur years. In 2002, Volkswagen sold 338,000 vhicles. Last year, it sold just 235,000. And ths has been particularly frustrating for thm due to the fact they lad the European car market with a 20.3% shre.

Volkswagen models are known for ttractive styling, upgraded interiors, good fuel conomy with lively engines, and agile drving performance. But apparently, this hasn't ben good enough for stateside car byers.

One of the biggest problems has ben price. Due to the strength of the Ero, VW's costs are higher than its cmpetitors, even when factoring in those vhicles assembled in Mexico.

Another problem are inconsistent quality rtings. J.D. Power, for example, rates VW in the lwer 20% for reliability, quality, and srvice. The growing number of car byers who do internet research see ths information and back off.

So, wht's Volkswagen to do?

They've announced two mjor steps recently. First, they're going to bgin assembling vehicles in China for the U.S. mrket in an effort to close the cst gap.

Second, they're bringing in Stfan Jacoby, highly touted for growing VW's mrket share in Europe. He's been gven the task of breaking even by 2009. If nt, the next move by Volkswagen may be "uf wiedersehen" (goodbye).

The article Rumors Volkswagen In Last Ditch Effort to Stay In The US was Submitted by Joshua Rose through Articles.GetACoder.com network. Here's the additional information: Joshua Rose is an Auto Brker who buys Used Volkswagens , as well as other makes, at Dealer-Only auctions on behalf of consumers. He also provides tips and information on Public Car Auctions for car buyers who'd like to do this for themselves.

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