In 2012, VW reported 438, 133 vehicles sold (a 35% increase from the previous year). This is huge momentum for the brand that is widely viewed as a “niche” brand in the US with very low sales volume.
Rainer Michel (Vice President of Product Market and Strategy) said VW needs to produce a family friendly SUV in order to maintain its momentum in North America. It does well with its Jettas and Passats, but this is a very large market segment they have yet to satisfy. The company debuted the CrossBlue at the North American Auto Show in Detroit and the company plans to choose a North American production facility within the next couple of months.
Michel states an SUV is necessary in order to meet the lofty goal the company has of selling 800,000 VWs and 200,000 Audis in the United States by 2018.
I think this is a very smart strategy on the part of VW. It seems fairly obvious that the company only sells to a very small and very specific group of customers in the United States and in order to broaden their horizons, an SUV needs to be produced. The business-level strategy of “who are their customers?” can be answered, but I do not think that they have enough customers to make any significant impact in US sales.
Shelby's Capstone 