Die Welt reports that the the managing board of VW AG is mulling establishing production capacity in the US. This is yet another consequence of the weak US Dollar.
Die Diskussion über eine neue Fabrik in den USA wurde durch Georg
Flandorfer ausgelöst. "Wir denken darüber nach, kommende Modelle, die
überwiegend in Amerika vertrieben werden, auch dort zu produzieren",
sagte der Vertriebsvorstand der Marke Volkswagen der "FAZ". Angesichts
der Dollarschwäche wäre es nach seinen Worten "fahrlässig", langfristig
nicht über einen solchen Schritt nachzudenken. Dabei sei es
grundsätzlich sinnvoll, ein solches Projekt zusammen mit der VW-Tochter
Audi anzugehen.
This would represent a return to US production. Between 1978 and 1988 VW assembled its Rabbit model in Westmoreland, Pennsylvania. That episode was marred by poor quality, union unrest, and fluctuating foreign exchange rates. At the time, VW management blamed the "lazy and unskilled" US workforce for its problems, and vowed never to return. But rival BMW and the Japanese have proven that autos of world-class quality can be manufactured in the US.
The history of VW in the US is a case study in corporate mismanagement. VW went from being the leading foreign brand in the US in the 1960’s to a distant also-ran today. The management appears to be incapable of indtroducing models that US consumers want. The recent results show an accelerating downward trend: sales of the VW Beetle in the US are down 59% in 2004, closely followed by the Jetta (minus 47%) and the Golf (minus 42%). Whether VW can manufacture cars in the US that people will actually buy remains to be seen.
