How Volkswagen Lost Its Way

[@issiewizzie]

The fact that base model of a VW Golf in 2014 was £14,000 and in 2024 base of Golf is now £29,000. .... double in 10 years.

[@Entertainment-]

The M2 money supply also doubled.

[@Melior_Traiano]

@@Entertainment- Inflation didn't double in 10 years.

[@Burito-tj5ry]

@@Entertainment- not how the economy works

[@talldave7799]

Double the price but SAME unreliable and components and parts! We have a 2013 Golf TDI and have never been able to synch and iphone to the stereo system!!!

[@zassakavuma5877]

£14,000 in January 2014 would be worth £21,745 in today's money. So they have become more expensive.

[@grongrod]

All car manufacturers went wrong when they sudenly started to think that cars are throw away items. They are appliances for most people. Replaced only when nedded.

[@PerWiklund234]

True!

[@WillieFungo]

@@grongrod European cars have become flashy disposable status symbols. In the US, German cars go to lease fleets or are bought new and discarded after around 3 years. The buyer who cherishes his car will get something built before 1995 or buy Japanese.

[@ysmg9010]

@@WillieFungo Well it is a bit of the customers fault as well. People in Germany started to focus on the premium brands. First most brands left the upper class sector (Opel, Peugeot, Ford, ...) because their sales went down. Then the europeon midsize got thinned down. Ford: Fiesta, Focus, Mondeo ... gone. Fiat: 500, not much more. Most Japanese brands: left with a few SUVs. After people allowed these premium brands to dominate the market, they started to cut costs and raise prices for profit. Why are people even surprised :p

[@r11tc]

Buyers are pointing the direction where manufacturers should go. If there were no competition manufacturer would decide what and how should the make cars. People buys cheap cars, competitors sees demand, they supplies cars, that meets demand. Now how many cars on the road today not every family could afford > 1 family car 50 years ago. People used to live well and seeking for better, but this isn't how it works. Cars has more parts than ever so statistically there's higher chance to break.

[@fa-ajn9881]

lol $30k throw away items

[@stickynorth]

They forgot the VOLKS part of their name and made their cars too unaffordable for the masses as well as inferior to other offerings from different OEM's... As soon as I heard the price of the VW ID Buzz Van I knew the company was sunk...

[@i20010]

All the EV's are priced ludicrously. No complex mechanical engine, no gearbox, no this no that, and it costs more.

[@Entertainment-]

@@i20010Raw materials of EVs are more expensive than just steel in a combustion engine.

[@nemiloszorka1162]

No, they did not. They are just offsetting the losses they have in China's market in EU and US markets. A new Golf is 3-4 times cheaper in China, than EU. European consumers are paying the cost of poor VW management.

[@CBF2020]

@@nemiloszorka1162so true.

[@Withnail1969]

@@nemiloszorka1162 Because it's much cheaper to produce in China.

[@sambowks]

As a VW owner and previous fan, they also don’t listen to their customers, they don’t respect their customers. They alienate their customers. Along with that I find the newest generation design very un-VW, as if someone took a great design and just melted it. I was previously a massive fan of their design language, stylish, subtle, and somehow just German. No longer sadly. Also, we don’t want black gloss plastic, gloss black keys, touch controls for basic functions. I’m looking at a new vehicle but looking at the previous gen (referring to Tiguan)

[@qbccc]

not to mention the new cheap eco-plastic for new mk8's polo's and a3/a4

[@elementoryking4452]

​@qbccc My uncle owns the newest polo. Everything is just Squeaking. The plastic is horrible

[@robbyyant6213]

I still like VW and Audi but I do agree that they seem to be deviating more and more each year from the typical "German" design language. Each new interior redesign looks more and more Japanese than it does European.

[@CBF2020]

Selling everyday car at luxury price. It’s suppose to be a car for the common men. They have Audi and Porsche but yet they still selling GOLF R at Porsche pricing. Their downfall isn’t EV adoption its their market segmentation.

[@NoName-md5zb]

ID3 in china cost half than EU. That means they can. But they dont.

[@jogana6909]

Their purpose in producing cars is to make profits

[@CBF2020]

@ no one is asking them not to make profit but understand how to segment your market. Why do you let VW compete in the same segment as your high end brand like Audi and Porsche. Stick to a lane and get to know your customer. VW buyer aren’t willing to pay 60k-90k for a car.

[@NoName-md5zb]

@@jogana6909 yet they dont :D

[@WillieFungo]

@@CBF2020 Almost all major European brands jack up prices and pretend to be luxury. Its their only business strategy

[@Twin.motors]

When a Toureg is €126,000 and youre blaming it on the "market"... You have a management problem

[@PatrickArcato]

Well that thing is huge, it could probably fit 5 average Americans

[@javigar133]

126k for a Toureg??? 😂😂😂

[@wesamal6302]

Blaming it all on EVs transition is BS It has been a while since german made a decent car for a decent price. Most of german cars are overpriced over complicated and use a lot of cheap parts the quality is also questionable

[@NuSpirit_]

Yeah even their ICE were bad for a while. My mechanic said that their body is nice but engines, electronics and software is godawful. Even budget cars like Dacia (from Renault) has fewer issues that mid-to-highmid end VW cars.

[@SuhbanIo]

bro German cars are top quality, but price is high

[@bolottsev]

@@SuhbanIo Top quality for 3 years, and then time for a repair shop

[@SuhbanIo]

@@bolottsev so driving a french shitbox (peugeot) is better?

[@bolottsev]

@@SuhbanIo When did I say that lol, nobody brought up Peugeot

[@Hans-k9j]

They really asked for this. The diesel scandal, far to high prices and arrogance in Wolfsburg have damaged the company’s reputation.

[@MrRunner]

Those bloody diesels. They were supposed to be THE way to go before electric. Hopelessly unreliable, I was aked to to replace head gaskets (ever tried to get the turbo off the head?), Fuel pumps grenade filling the whole system with swarf and oh, the cost of the pump was $3000 and that was 20 years ago. I could go on. Classic VW. If I won one as a prize I'd give it away.

[@JAnx01]

Dieselgate is a hoax.

[@quackcement]

Simple affordable reliable, not anymore

[@flottenheimer]

What car brand is these days (serious question)?

[@quackcement]

@@flottenheimer they are all overloaded with technology, I brought a 10 year old lexus for that reason,

[@iCore7Gaming]

They are still pretty reliable

[@JAnx01]

@@flottenheimer Airbags and all the mandatory safety features cost at a minimum $8k in every car sold. Cheap cars aren't possible.

[@pingu4434]

@@flottenheimer I think Toyota is the closest.

[@yesman2755]

Parts prices are mad crazy too. Just paid VW £156 for a simple sensor glow plug. Every time I enter their parts department I’m getting ready for another gigantic shock. Certainly don’t make “people’s cars” anymore.

[@AlexLYH]

Not a single mention of energy cost affecting the whole German manufacturing industry..

[@pondeify]

can't state the real reason because that might make ordinary people asking questions about the war.

[@quasii7]

@@pondeify Nuclear reactors never should have been closed.

[@kntrsh]

@@AlexLYH Who sabotaged NordStream…

[@ValentinMorio]

That is defenetly also a reason, but a minor one.

[@ValentinMorio]

​@@quasii7Why? They are the most expensive energy source on earth

[@williamford9564]

The video doesn't mention that the German auto workers are THE HIGHEST PAID IN THE WORLD.

[@celanian8188]

Also they work far fewer hours than their peers in China, US, Japan, and Korea.

[@manorsolomon951]

This is reason why developed nations need developing nations to bring their cost of goods lower because manufacturing in developed nations like US, German, France, Japan is ridiculously bigger than the developing nations like China, India or Vietnam.

[@freespiritable]

That's a vicious cycle.​@@manorsolomon951

[@darkgalaxy5548]

Gosh, Detroit makes the same claim.

[@williamford9564]

@ In 2023, the average German auto worker made 33 euros an hour which translates to $35 US dollars. In 2024, the American average wage was $21. This probably doesn’t account for the increases negotiated this year by the UAW but it will still not be near the German number. I suspect with Germany’s much more socialistic society that things like health care benefits and time off also cost the German makers much more than the US.

[@dnshable]

Have you seen the prices of the new cars? It is outrageous

[@CSARVA]

The Tiguan is FAR more fairly priced than other brands in its class.

[@jdmguy44]

​@@CSARVAThe inevitable repairs outside warranty won't be fairly priced.

[@CSARVA]

@@jdmguy44 and oh by the way, even with the cost of an extended service plan, VW is still more fairly priced than Honda or Toyota. Honda and Toyota are asking insane price with up charges that they refuse to remove, again, VW at the end of the day is more fairly priced.

[@TasteMyMelee]

How is 22k for a Jetta overpriced?

[@fastbike1702]

Car prices are so high because people pay too much for them.

[@U23721]

Absolutely worst time ever to strike. You strike when times are strong and leverage is high. Not when your company is in existential crisis.

[@agfagaevart]

AND looking to lay people off!

[@juliahello6673]

Unions teacher workers to hate the company so if they can destroy it they will.

[@meixo9083]

like boeing?

[@FenrirRobu]

Volkswagen is probably the prime example of the current manufacturing trends - build more exclusive, more engineered, higher quality products... that are pointlessly expensive. It seems that in Europe nobody even tries to make things to be cheap and affordable. The most shocking part of Chinese EVs is not that they had tariffs, but that they even upmark the prices in Europe, because the market is so overpriced. For peace of mind, I recommend not searching the EV prices within China itself.

[@quasii7]

Yeah, although most of the Chinese EVs are sold below manufacturing cost.

[@FenrirRobu]

@quasii7 For a long time Tesla was priced under manufacturing too. However, let's be clear, the Chinese EVs in Europe were not sold below manufacturing, Europe was the most profitable region for them. They do have subsidies, and there are the three indirect subsidies of China - artificially cheap currency, looser environmental restrictions, more competitive and aggressive job market (6 day work weeks are common). Nevertheless, Koreans have also entered the affordable market with KIA ICU cars, Japanese cars justify their price with absurd reliability, and the previously cheap and bad central European car brands are taking over the streets.

[@i20010]

They have cheap labor and state support.

[@nemiloszorka1162]

@@i20010 you are talking about Tesla, right?

[@santostv.]

In no country will you get Chinese pricing unless they are loosing a lot of money. We have cheap ev’s in Europe although with smaller batteries just not German ones, even for regular cars German ones are usually more expensive.

[@Ausshops]

I owned an Audi A4, massive problems with once it hit 75000 km’s. Talking to other VW branded cars they have the same problem. They make unreliable cars and that burns them having customers buy another one.

[@adamwilliams4084]

When 2014 VW Golf build quality is much better than 2024 Golf, you know that something has gone wrong. Consumers can’t be fooled with shiny plastics. We want quality for the € we pay, if not we will buy something else. Now they have to deal with the consequences of corporate greed and dependence on ruSSian cheap energy.

[@admiralbeez8143]

Well said. I love my 2014 VW wagon with its non-turbo i5 and 5-speed manual, that takes regular gas. It’s was affordable to buy (costing about four month’s pay), remains reliable, has no needless tech and is fun to drive. Make cara like this.

[@madanto2394]

I saw a mk8 golf r that had a thermostat leak!! & they ask £50k for one.

[@CBF2020]

@@madanto2394crazy

[@Iskelderon]

Years ago, their CEO had to admit at an auto show that Hyundai did a better job with its i30 (the Golf competitor) than VW could, instead of learning from it and actually catching up, they decided on complacency and gaslighting.

[@benjamindover4337]

I had a 2016 and a 2023 and the old one was way better. VW has completely fallen off.

[@hasan0770816268]

Blaming China for VW's failure is next level sad.

[@jogana6909]

They blame east and west, but they don't blame themselves.

[@cowubl]

Migrants destroyed German cars😅

[@amnaatarapper]

None talks about how unrelaiable their cars have become

[@CI_4C]

@@amnaatarappermeaow

[@rami8896]

Which is why I think they are doomed to fail, all blame and no plan to improve. They will be something like Nokia I predict or even worse a foreign company will acquire them.

[@martinzihlmann822]

EV transition was too slow for China and too fast for EU.

[@toyotaprius79]

EU/EPP is too thick you mean

[@APDM_Analysis]

Should've transitioned to hybrid a decade ago instead of faking “clean diesel”. Whomp whomp VW get what they deserve

[@scoty_does]

@@APDM_Analysis I had a a hybrid, NEVER AGAIN! The worst of both worlds.

[@redwhite_040]

VW was to dependent of the profits from sales in China. More sales in China than in EU (home market). Since Chinese people are buying CHinese brands more and more, VW and other big companies are losing market share rapidly.

[@Simon-dm8zv]

@@APDM_Analysis more like 2 decades ago and 1 decade ago EVs

[@Rob-ss2jv]

ID Buzz - 95000 out the door in Canada - 200 Km range. Lost its way is a massive understatement. Could easily have been a hybrid or regular ICE, would have been infinitely better.

[@FrozenDung]

200km? Don't you mean miles?

[@curs_und_cuts]

@@FrozenDung Canada uses metric system

[@no-barknoonan1335]

​@@FrozenDungWhy would they mean miles, when they said km?

[@bltzcstrnx]

​@@no-barknoonan1335because 200 km is crazy, even cheap BYD and Wuling can cover more range.

[@Vermilion2049]

Nokia of the car industry

[@dubaiwatches]

The German economy will be in a difficult position without the car industry.

[@larryc1616]

​@dubaiwatches so will Japan

[@csibesz07]

@@dubaiwatches Time to diversify, like China!

[@AI-is-the-great-future]

@@larryc1616 I want Land Cruiser 300 but need to wait 3 years to get it… I think Toyota is somewhat in a better position. People need their cars for deserts and wars 😂

[@harishs9003]

It could be a thing of past really fast

[@ruslanmishiyev9815]

The biggest issue isn’t even the price, quality has gone downhill so so much. For example, cheap interiors, and even cheaper mechanicals (plastic oil pans), excessive use of plastics in the engine bay, and more. Japanese cars have also started cutting costs on interiors, but not as bad as Volkswagen yet. They also haven’t cut costs in the mechanicals in a way that affects durability.

[@rogue13131313]

At these prices and lack of reliability, it is no longer The People's Car

[@kjlovescoffee]

I come from a family of VW drivers. We've had half a dozen Golfs in the family. My favourite car I've owned was my (2nd hand) Golf mk1. I'd like a modern Golf, but in my country they cost as much as a modest house. So I drive a Huyndai. It's nice - it has real buttons.

[@elementoryking4452]

I live in a family of VW car owners as well. Mum has one, uncle has one aunt, cousin, I. Yet all I see is the newer the car the more problems. And especially the cheap plastic. My uncle bought himself the newest polo and all it does is squeeking all day long. Just terrible to sit in this car. Funny enough, my VW 9N3 Polo doesn't even have that much problems even though it has 200.000 km

[@walsh20047]

German build quality has been a myth for well over decade at this stage. People are starting to catch on.

[@kensai7]

You have not been into many cars probably. It's the only real thing.

[@TheBossStudioZ]

Polo had atrocious quality, poor gearbox and interior

[@Iskelderon]

I remember when a young colleague bought a then new Mercedes A-class (the generation that went from a toy car to a real Golf competitor) had trouble with the wiper fluid assembly within days and the car didn't even spend its full first week at home before needing a replacement of something that should have been tested at the factory.

[@hkad6252]

Owned 1 BMW and 2 VWs. Bought them all heavily used. Never had any real issues with any of them.

[@jglg7238]

european cars are over price cars, not reliable, japanese, asians care are superior

[@beatles4sale2007]

Too many brands competing, better options with their “lesser” brands (Skoda for example), interest rates shooting up, cost of living crisis, high wages, poor EV models, dieselgate…..the list goes on.

[@MrGerdbrecht]

China not paying patent fees, stealing IP, copying chasis like nobody finds out. Cheap parts from china is the reason of all reduced quality. Dieselgate on the other hand is a Shanda.

[@Shambles7698]

Germany cars right now in general are overpriced with low reliability and low quality

[@Tenniszogger]

Thats Not true

[@TrccrT]

Only BMW leading reliability charts

[@neil3858]

If you think German cars are bad take a look at American brands….

[@jogana6909]

I agree

[@johns1600]

@@Tenniszoggerit is true, google car reliability rankings and VW is one if the lowest whilst Koreans are amongst the best now, VW lied about its cars and took its long loyal customers for granted, they were once the best but no longer,let them go out of business

[@jamesroy791]

Scammed its customers with diesel cars than they didn't even know how to make EVs and Software

[@MrGerdbrecht]

Don't know how to make software? We invented computers.

[@jamesroy791]

@MrGerdbrecht invented computers than got ran out by apple and the rest of silicon valley

[@MyerShift7]

You mean the EU scammed everyone into diesels

[@GodOfChaos_HeXa]

@@jamesroy791 you do know that germany and the netherlands produce the EUV litoraphy machines needed for modern SoCs and processors, no other company in the world can compete with ASML and ZEIS

[@kuglepen64]

VW: Arrogance led to corruption in Dieselgate, and heel-dragging in EV development. The era of cheap Russian gas is over and all the structural and self-caused calamities have stacked on top of each other. I could imagine further nationalisation to keep it going, or marque fire sales. That would only delay the inevitable. They look mortally wounded.

[@harishs9003]

Wrecked themselves

[@lateseptember3974]

It was a bad idea to conflict with Russia.

[@MrGerdbrecht]

@@lateseptember3974 Lol what?

[@MyerShift7]

What? Gas hasn't been cheap in Europe in AGES

[@suntzu1409]

Almost as if competency breeds complacency

[@mazeltov6752]

As a German let me tell you something: 7:18 The supervisory board has two seats for politicians that are in the state government of lower saxony, currently green party with SPD (labor party). The green party is openly opposing the car industry (because of climate change) and both politicians of that board are not qualified at all. Let me translate that for you: A person who graduated high school becomes a politician for several years, has no actual work experience at all except becoming part of the state‘s government. Then they get a seat on the supervisory board on one of germanys biggest automobile company. Let that sink in.

[@grahamkearnon6682]

That's how the british Tory party has worked for a century. Rich boy goes to Eton college, leaves to become Special adviser for party, gets offered an MP position, wins, then brown noses up until party leader. Been done a dozen times, PM Cameron in 2012 was the last one.

[@toyotaprius79]

VW was arrogant theor executives and leadership arrogant, cheated their diesel emissions to gain its dominance. They ignored the writing on the wall with regards to EVs and made them premium SUVs with less-expensive base options coming 3 years after lsunch. . Look at VWs focus on its 15 year lineup diesel or EV - they have trapped themselves in an SUV malaise

[@talldave7799]

My impresson of the ID4 launch in US where they made these mistakes!

[@lmn222002]

I had a 2021 Jetta SEL Premium, and at 32k miles, the rear brake pads needed to be replaced. The dealer quoted me $1200 for pads, but that does not include the rotors or a brake flush. I traded the vehicle in the following weekend and bought a Nissan. I went to the VW part site, and pads were listed for $60 back then. When is the rest of the $1200 going?

[@Alex-pr6zv]

If their response to dieselgate would have been to roll out hybrids and EVs, rather than insulting our intelligence with a useless software update, they would be in a far better place today.

[@today05]

Dont forget they told us that the continuous development of the engines cost billions… yet they only made the software cheat. Where are those billions that were supposedly spent on r&d?

[@Mallen815]

Most of their customers don’t know much about dieselgate. But diselgate led to electrification which is the struggle.

[@davidfarrell1062]

Its not even an EV issue. Cars doubled in price in 10 years but customers got nothing for the big increase.

[@yangjyso]

It isn’t fair to say that. They did tried everything to but failed, miserably.

[@pabss3193]

@@davidfarrell1062 This!!

[@greggbutler9344]

When they started making cheap hard plastic dashboards in mid to high range models,Their Days were Numbered.

[@okman9684]

Jaguar can go even lower

[@crosslink1493]

Like "six-feet-under" lower. 😵‍💫

[@cowubl]

JAGUAR is a legend

[@Ren07443]

𝓢𝓵𝓪𝔂💅

[@GENESISMAGMA]

It's a so sad world that our children will know only current image of Jaguar. Jaguar was my niche dream car when I was elementary school.

[@emiramella]

Jaguar is gone.

[@ruisantos8291]

Car 1 (Beetle): a design icon, reliable and affordable; Car 2 (Golf): a design icon, reliable and affordable; Car 3 (ID3): NOT a design icon, with half baked software and NOT affordable.

[@rkan2]

The software is the least of ID3s problems...

[@MrRunner]

Sorry no. The Beetle was horrifically unreliable once they increased the power from 40hp. The 1303 would grenade pistions, short clutch life, ignition keys fell out. The 411 heating system caught fire. Undrivable in ice and snow. Don't get me started on the Golfs. Had a pal when in College who had a 1972 Honda Civic. The quality of engineering and design was mind blowing. They also make the best motorcyclces in the world

[@christianh.1437]

Limiting this giant company to just one brand, really? Porsche, Lamborghini, Audi, MAN, Scania... are also part of the Volkswagen AG. They will prevail. Will Rivian, Lucid, NIO, XPeng, Polestar still exist in 10 years?

[@IamTiper]

That's what asking for a high price, because 2 decades ago you used to make reliable cars, gets you. Then they thought they had any chance to compete in an electric market in China with said prices. This was all obvious and e.g. Toyota knows it.

[@MrGerdbrecht]

Bla bla our gov said we have to drive electric in 2030. Nobody else really want e-cars. Atleast not with science and dev in its infancy.

[@DesertObserver491]

Mgt and market bodies seem more tuned to numbers and dreams and less to people and their realities. They lose focus on their core business of selling cars. When a customer doesn't buy your car or buys it again, find out why. Hint: it's not EV related.

[@gordanbabic8028]

They cancelled their hugely succesfull car Up!, they refuse to put hybrid engines in their smaller vehicles … they don’t provide what people want

[@radekmraz1432]

Also cancelled Arteon while it is extremely popular. Feels like a sabotage.

[@mllenessmarie]

⁠@@radekmraz1432Wait, they really canceled Arteon? xd What were they thinking?

[@radekmraz1432]

​@@mllenessmarie exactly! They cancelled it and said there will not be another generation of Arteon. They might be still producing current generation but soon will end.

[@leemacdonald6533]

The people want diesel and petrol cars not electric or hybrid.

[@jesseslinger6867]

No passat either and I believe there won't be a golf 9 either, iam not sure about that tho

[@MrFreeman626]

I'll be honest Bloomberg this doc feels a little undercooked and too superficial. There was only a minor reference to the slow and unsuccessful adoption of modern R&D techniques and no mention of the energy crisis affecting the entirety of Europe's industry, and perhaps more importantly, the unbelievable cost of these new cars, which are also really hard to repair and maintain in the traditional sense for the average consumer. The workers have a right to protest when their livelihood is being put at risk by shortsighted management.

[@ChengLZha]

I’m not economists, I like golf, so I went to a VW dealership last year in Riverside California, the dealership experience was really bad and the manager was all money business. On top of that, the interface of those new Golf is hard to use and those touch buttons are nightmare, I don’t get it why VW doesn’t focus on it’s design and quality,

[@lil----lil]

Hint: When money is TIGHT, they're going buy "reliable" cars and it's NOT Volkswagen. Certainly not the first thing comes to my mind.

[@MrGerdbrecht]

My first thought would be a Mercedes C class for 7800€. Not electric ofcourse.

[@jacekicksass]

Overpriced cars, very simple. Cars from Asia really show what bad value VW is.

[@MrGerdbrecht]

Maybe chinese cars would be more expensive if they payed patent fees, or development costs instead of stealing or had high (living) standards. People who only look at money don't see much.

[@jacekicksass]

sounds like loser talk

[@GodOfChaos_HeXa]

@@MrGerdbrecht yeah, chinese EVs also get subisdized a lot by the CCP and their build quality sucks.

[@iintersergey]

Germany was so focused on green economic, what could be more green than closed factories?😅

[@MuhammadIrfan-ye5zf]

I don't understand media obsession marrying carmakers with EV. Half of EV buyer considering going back to ICE cars, AND EV are still priced beyond what most people can afford. ICE and Diesel engine are still here to stay for a very long time (+20 years).

[@batosato]

Germany fails to innovate so it was bound to fail.

[@diyunudemel8856]

Germany fails to innovate? i don't know what are you talking about and i think you don't even know that. Germany as country is one of the most innovative country and in fact According Global innovative index it is in the top 10 for consecutively many years

[@batosato]

@diyunudemel8856 really? Are Germans leading in AI, in battery technology, EV, manufacturing process and so on? Tesla and BYD did all that alone. Why is the German economy falling behind then?

[@Melior_Traiano]

@@batosato Who is leading in these sectors except for the US and to a lesser degree China?

[@Melior_Traiano]

@@batosato Ironically BYD started as a joint-venture between BMW and China...

[@batosato]

@Melior_Traiano Germany is not even near these two countries. It is an easy answer.

[@impexRQ]

The problem is the German mentally, you can’t do the same as you did 70 years ago and hope things will be working out the same. In today’s ecosystem with the USA and China driving innovation and praising entrepreneurial mindset and taking risk … Germany has not place if they are not willing to change their mindset

[@kamerafi]

I still remember how bad VW build quality was in 2008. In 2024, they seem to get worse. Then came the dieselgate. Then EV and SDV. I can't say I didn't see this coming. But again, EU as a whole is simply not a business friendly environment. When did they last time you see startups grow into juggernauts like what you can see in the US and China?

[@DesertObserver491]

Yep. Talked big yet tied their own shoes

[@edgarsdzerins]

VW has lost me because: 1) very poor reliability & unnecessarily complicated; 2) absurd prices; 3) no physical buttons.

[@MrGerdbrecht]

Your numbering makes it very scientific.

[@mls.design]

This happens, when you produce absolute disgraces of cars (that won't last a minute) but charge the full price - stating that you are the best. Which is by far not true. It's absurd, how many issues those plastic boxes have.

[@drwisdom1]

I started driving VWs in 1973 and have a 2015 Sportwagen TDI and a 1992 Corrado SLC, both bought new. But I am never buying another VW because I buy them for the manual transmission and repairability. Without a manual there is no reason for me to buy a VW over a Toyota/Lexus. VW is restricting access by diagnostic tools, so I will no longer be able to fix them. It's over.

[@michaelschneider-]

Copy that... My initial VW was a used '68 Beetle in 1973 also. Many neu GTI's later - never again Volkswagen AG. ..

[@MrGerdbrecht]

And? You can't repair a computer aswell, still u are on the internet somehow.

[@drwisdom1]

@@MrGerdbrecht I can generally fix anything unless it was made to prevent me.

[@MrGerdbrecht]

@@drwisdom1 I generally doubt that. But i respect trying. To be absolutely fair repairs will get even harder when we need to prevent IP theft from china and the like.

[@yuluoxianjun]

Its not they lost too much now,its they earn too much before.Their price is way higher than its production cost.

[@MrGerdbrecht]

Can i see the computation?

[@davidsmyth8647]

Lot of talk about how legacy auto makers like VW didn't move to EVs quickly enough. Has anyone considered the problems may be how they are being forced to offer a product, EVs, not enough of their customers want rather than diesel engines which they do. You can't force a market, never succeeds. Love to see both sides of this discussed without the ideology of only EVs are the future.

[@petersv]

The cost of cars is too cheap in terms of its negative externality for society. The solution is to tax both cheap and expensive gas and dieselcars more at the point of buying

[@wgemini4422]

China is the biggest car market in the world and EVs are selling well there. And if there was no tariff, EVs would likely sweep Europe and the US too. Only EVs are the future, plain and simple, if only because oil and our environment are finite resources. Whether it is battery EVs or something else is debatable, but certainly not ICE.

[@MrGerdbrecht]

" You can't force a market" - Lol you are completly wrong. But you are correct that it doesn't have to work always.

[@davidsmyth8647]

@wgemini4422 EVs take more of the planets resources in their manufacturing processes than a diesel over its life.

[@hrthrhs]

VW never had their way. They just made one great car, the MkV Golf, and that was it. Otherwise they were just another car company. They didn't 'lose their way', they never had much of a way to begin with.

[@andreyperepic8125]

True about big troubles with Software. Most of Germany manufacturers still use programs and standards from late 90-th. This is real nightmare to work there. But at a same time, we have a lot of progress and optimizations, when every block, light, multimedia in a car needs to be adopted and require dealer SW to start working. So, on modem VW you can not replace xenon light by yourself. And this significantky increases cost of maintenance

[@AnythingJW]

VW wasting money on interior ambience lighting instead of improving its oil burning engine

[@cassis1018]

Long history, big workforce, and no more playing with the world economies/finances has caused this. Time to be for real competitive. Not a fixed game with all the rules in your favor anymore.

[@dcoughla681]

When I was growing up, German cars were THE car to have, driven by affluent, sophisticated people. They were an expensive premium product with solid German quality engineering that was the best in the world. VW Golf cars were driven mainly by women with money. They were usurped by Japanese cars which were lower in price & had improved quality. Then the EU became obsessed with the environment & electrification of vehicles. The problem is Europe & the UK are not fully prepared for it. There aren’t enough charging points. When your country is part of the EU, you lose sovereignty of your country & have to do what the EU says. Also, globalisation & advances in tech have decimated young peoples’ pay so they can’t afford an expensive car. Most young people live in cities where there are plenty of transport options & most local governments have introduced punitive parking restrictions for a cash grab in order to save the environment. The Chinese cars are cheaper to produce & sell but in undercutting competitors, they are setting the stage for a future monopoly. President Trump is doing the right thing. It’s either jobs or tariffs.

[@andradejea01]

What about the decline in quality and reliability of Volkswagen cars? Don't the Germans say anything about this? In the past, VW cars were more reliable, but nowadays, they are disposable garbage (especially all "TSI" and all "TFSI" Audi engines)

[@ari_a2764]

I have a golf from 2014. Never had problems with it but it also only has 63000km

[@reardelt]

Germany has stopped innovating. Before there were awesome Siemens phones. Now they are gone. BMW cars were top notch. Now they are being swept away by Tesla cars

[@slonkoo]

Wouldnt even swap my vacuum cleaner for an tesla. Sorry.

[@LeonidMalikov]

@@slonkoobut why? Tesla produces much less noise when it is doing its job 😅

[@slonkoo]

@ Boring design, cheap quality and then Elon. So tired of that dude 😂

[@TrccrT]

Wait BMW is absurdly successful right now, what do you mean „swept by Tesla“?

[@mistermood4164]

@@TrccrT they're profits are down 80%

[@wearingchelalo]

Vw is losing against Japonese and Chinesse manufactures. Vw relies on their reputation by offering "overpriced" poor quality vehicles.

[@ClockworksOfGL]

The Japanese are getting hammered too. Just look at the “merger” (ie government ordered bailout) of Nissan by Honda.

[@tibivaslo]

Solution: VW has to sell Lamborghini, Porsche, Bentley, Skoda, Seat, Bugatti, Ducatti and Man trucks. Basically sell everything that isn't VW or Audi. Problem solved.

[@wdazza]

The problem with burying your head in the sand is that even when you take your head out of then sand, you may still find you have sand in your eyes!

[@MrGerdbrecht]

Still there are animals doing it for million of years.

[@Flynbourne]

There’s no single issue here. Some of them are extraneous to VW. Energy costs and cheap competition being two. But VW really has shot itself in the foot in multiple areas. For me the design is just horrible these days. The new golf is just awful. I don’t know who is doing interiors these days but it’s not a nice place to be. Their diesel dishonesty also put them behind the 8 ball

[@priteshpatil5363]

Thumbnail designer deserve raise❤❤

[@brootalbap]

ai made 😂

[@priteshpatil5363]

@brootalbap 😂 lol

[@bearimo2867]

Not AI

[@Mico605]

I dont feel sad at all about german manufacturers. They got outplayed by not only the Chinese, but by the American and especially Japanese (which nobody seems to mention, and Toyota is the biggest car manufacturer it the whole world). People who keep an eye on german manufacturers know about all the anti-consumer and anti-competition practices german car manufacturers did behind closed doors to reduce competition over the decades and lets not forget lying and cheating on emissions testing. This downfall didnt come over night, it came over decades of bad decisions and bad practices.

[@ari_a2764]

By american? Laughable. VW has done a lot wrong but American car makers are irrelevant outside of north america

[@joeswyz]

My first car is a 2006 Polo sedan when Germany brands equal to premium in China. Shockingly, I found its latest model in 2024 is almost identical to 20 years ago in the tech spec and the looking. That speaks louder than thunder. Volkswagen has got so complacent that they did nothing for 20 year in this fast changing and volatile world. I bought a Model Y instead.

[@albo3757]

For me all this situation has a face of Gerhard Schroeder - an modest german guy that decided to sell UE and Germany for a cosy position in Gazprom.

[@rwdplz1]

VW lost their way when they tried to cheap out and build their cars in Mexico. The quality and the reputation tanked. THEN Dieselgate. They're done.

[@wgemini4422]

Don't think they ever had much a reputation in North America, neither have the big three. I would trust a Mexican worker a lot more than a US worker to be honest.

[@EricTheBody]

I don’t know. My Mexican Jetta has been great. I think they need to focus on fun, cheap and reliable. Everyone wants to be an upscale brand these days.

[@joebloggs24]

As a VW owner, I have to comment that their dealership network is rubbish - total garbage service. Arrogant & rude on the phone, seems that any product you want to buy is inconvenient for them to give you a price on it. Expensive services & parts, long wait times, poor customer service sees the marketshare drop when new alternatives hit the market. I have enjoyed driving my VW but am scrapping it soon to buy Chinese EV. Ridiculous pricing and too many things to regularly maintain.

[@amandagrant4331]

VW has an inexplicable sense of superiority. They think consumers are begging for their products.

[@Andrew-zv4fm]

For the past 15 years or so, they have been making cars that people can't afford and they are not making cars that people want. Why EV sales are down in Germany? What this video doesn't say is that Germany stopped the tax credits and people are reluctant to buy EVs. This goes to show that if you give a person a reason to buy something, they will buy it. VW needs to make cars that people want and that people can afford.

[@Sammy-uv1kl]

Traded my VW golf for model 3 - best decision ever

[@MrGerdbrecht]

I traded my bicycle for Mercedes C class.

[@philipkoekemoer4705]

Maybe if Germany didn't listen to a teenager and destroy their energy sector, they would be more competitive

[@innoccente1]

They keep talking about EVs but it still a very small slide of the pie. The true is that companies like VW have been lowering its quality and raising prices for the past 20 years!

[@today05]

Vw cars got incredibly expensive in the last decade or so. Even compared to other legacy automakers. They priced out their market, and now they are wondering why people dont buy their cars. Also they make the stupidest decisions, like making a cabrio-suv on a polo platform: the definition of an useless overpriced garbage instead of a sensible, reasonably priced car. And yeah they make spar-models: those are literally worse than their base models from a couple generations back, with rock hard plastics. I guess profit was above all for the last period, and now it caught up with them.

[@andrewboddy3958]

They are too expensive in Australia. VW golf life entry model is $40k. Audi even more ridiculous Q5 $80k. Hyundai, Kia, Mazda etc all 25%cheaper. Chinese 30%. Definitely not the peoples car here. Also EV’s don’t work for everyone’s budget and situation. Just bring back basic quality ICE cars without stopstart and intrusive tech.

[@zeniktorres4320]

That's Toyota Camry hybrid prices.

[@sesedmien1]

"Just bring back basic quality ICE cars without stopstart and intrusive tech." - Ursula von der Leyen says "No."

[@Ferni142]

The cars they made are expensive and boring. Here when we talk about something boring we say: as boring as driving a VW

[@bdawg333]

As a lifelong VW owner, I’m out. When I drove my first VW in the 90s, other VW drivers waved at you - there was a proud sense of community amongst owners. The cars have become the most generic and dull vehicles out there.

[@compguy1121]

They wanted to charge the value of the car to replace just the headlights when they failed. Nah. Ridiculous.

[@MrGerdbrecht]

Who is they

[@KeliK1]

The already expensive vehicles are unreliable and overengineered on purpose. Planned obsolescence and greed. A lot of people say they will not buy a vehicle from the VW group again after a negative experience, me included.

[@The66680]

Bloated range of too many cross overs, over complicated engineering, planned obsolescence,poor quality and high prices. No longer a car for the people , instead for premium clients

[@coolmkdmacedonia]

Same phenomenon goes for all european brands. Prices have doubled. But inflation only 10-14%. They have been ripping of the buyers for too long now.

[@SteveLomas-k6k]

Same in the US, all manufacturers have been forced to spend billions developing cars people don't want, of course they have to pass some of that on, but they are still selling EVs at a loss. Nobody is going to out-subsidize the CCP- let them have that market if they want it, while they can afford it.

[@HS-yz7ui]

So VW blames electric cars for their downfall while Toyotas sales increased specially the hybrids. They became arrogant and increased the prices while decreasing the quality. The ignored their core fans and now no wonder they are being ignored. Their fall is inevitable.

[@10tenman10]

Germany is in serious trouble. The decline of VW is a cause and symptom.

[@erfquake1]

To be fair, VW is very similar to Tesla in that neither company ever had the slightest interest in making a people's (i.e.: affordable) electric car. This created the opportunity for China to move in to the vaccuum and now threatens both companies.

[@WillieFungo]

@@erfquake1 What planet do you live on? Tesla cars are very affordable considering the specs

[@EmesOfficial]

I'm sorry, but Teslas are one of the best deals for what you get, and used ones are beginning to be very affordable for ordinary people

[@rkan2]

Tesla not affordable?? 😂 Yes there are more affordable cars, but if you take the Model 3 and compare, there is very little competition. Hence they are the best selling vehicles. An equal "people's car" barely even exists, and to get to a similar level is at least 10% more.

[@wgemini4422]

@@rkan2 I would argue the Ioniq 5 is significantly better, but they can't build enough of them.

[@christianlibertarian5488]

Back in the 1980’s, we went through the same thing with US car brands. Same complaints: overpriced, unreliable, corporate arrogance. But the issue then is the same as VW’s issue now: labor costs too much in the country. It took decades to get costs down in the US, but never fully succeeded. That’s because low cost labor translates exactly into low paid labor. The US industry nearly died. I look for the same thing to happen in Germany.

[@Nonixification]

I never heard anybody ever say "I want to buy a Volkwagen".

[@robertpetrea23]

that's because "Volkwagen" is not a real brand and doesn't exist. If you mean Volkswagen, with and S, that's a different story. A lot people are big fans of the Golf R as a performance saloon alternative, the Polo GTI as a legit small and powerful hot hatch, the Touareg as an imposing SUV with quality just like in the (a lot) more expensive Audis, and even the older Passat models for stuck in the past boomer type buyers. Maybe pay attention to the world around you for a change

[@led0073]

VW group recently paid shareholders 4.5 billion Euros, letting the greedy rich get even richer. If these companies were run correctly, the management would tell the shareholders no to taking money out of the business until they can sort out it's issues.

[@mannionmax]

I can see the German car industry going the same way as the British car industry. VW are the new British Leyland

[@JEDAM75]

Exactly, the same with the Swedish car industry with legendary Swedish brands like Volvo and Saab. Amazing how a whole business gets disrupted easily. What we took for granted a few years back, namely that the German car industry was superior and unbeatable, is now turning into an illusion. And I'll not only say the German car industry but the European as such. Stellantis is in the same situation, init?

[@mannionmax]

@@JEDAM75 Yeah, the German car industry did to Sweden what the Chinese are going to do to Germany. The fact is that although Saab and Volvo made great cars, they cost the same as their German equivalents and unfortunately the public overwhelmingly voted to spend their money on a BMW or Mercedes. VW has already lost the Chinese market, it will lose the US market when tariffs come in and we have not yet seen China make a real push into Europe. Lets also not forget the massive debt that VW has, their debt pile is almost €200 billion!

[@prathameshozarkar]

​@@mannionmaxPerhaps that's why they are giving some stake of their company to Mahindra🤔

[@Dynasty1818]

They're abusing the appeal of the Golf in the EU. Even a second hand GTI will run you 10-15 grand, because people have the mentality of "it's a Golf so it's a guaranteed reliability and resale later" when in reality they're getting more and more issues. Leaking doors is super common.

[@brhodes0]

Drones on for nearly 10 minutes just to say its mainly not managing the switch to EV as well as others and not being able to write decent software. There ya go there's 10 minutes of your life back treat yourself to a nice cup of tea.

[@KDieter]

They have had bad CEO FOR many years. Then they build electric cars that only the rich people can afford to buy them and there cars r over priced

[@daviddeclercq9998]

The fact that they had to pay hundreds of millions in fines for the emission cheating scandal makes their planned transition to evs more complicated. Furthermore, vws software is quite buggy

[@petrichor259]

They paid over 30 Billion as fines not million.

[@JH-uu7jl]

VW isn't failing because of electric cars. VW is failing because like their American counterparts they failed to invest in the future while China heavily invested in the future. If you try to coast on past wins, someone else who isn't coasting will pass you by. Stop blaming electric cars and start blaming decades of underinvestment in the future.

[@dwylhq874]

The detail of the Union + Gov have a majority of board seats is such a spanner for them being able to make the necessary changes to survive. 😬 Always saad to see job losses. 😢 But a handful of short-term strategic cuts (including incompetent management!) will be a lot less painful than a bailout/bankruptcy 💭

[@frankstipes4114]

This is not covered ANYWHERE in the "establishment" western world!!!!!

[@TheShepTV]

In Ireland, a fully-optioned Golf R will cost you €99,450. Thats a 2L hatchback for 100k. Its demise is its own doing. I am sad, but if your'e not going to compete in a market economy, you're going to fail.

[@GURken]

oh come on we all know that it's also a sportscar equal to 997 gt3 so that's why it's so high-priced

[@Andy-pu1gx]

In Germany the Golf R starts at 60k. Normally you got on the cars 15 to 20% Discount.

[@Entertainment-]

@@Andy-pu1gxIt just means you pay generally 15-20% more if you’re not aware of the discount, that is why people hate dealerships.

[@Simon-dm8zv]

Highly exaggerated. The Golf starts at 35K Euro.

[@Andy-pu1gx]

@@Entertainment- No, every big company have a List price and a Sales Price.

[@scoty_does]

Herbert Diess was right!

[@reinerspecht8782]

If you make quality and value based cars, you'll do just fine, you build expensive but unreliable cars you'll go under. One might notice that BYD, for example, has no issues selling cars.

[@quartytypo]

Automakers deserve to close their doors. They lost the ability to make money when they asked politicians what kind of car to build, instead of asking consumers.

[@Jan-qg1iy]

The sole idea that a car *_NEEDS_* to be an EV loaded with electronics, and have an *_INFOTAINMENT SYSTEM_* is ridiculous. What it needs is to be engineered for maintenance simplicity and built with top quality components and materials at an affordable price. Long, long ago, *VW* used to be a *WORLD LEADER* at all that. 🥀😒🥀 Long ago.

[@TomMcinerney-g9b]

agree @ ridiculous

[@miloraddjurdjic1695]

People want EVs, you cant fight it. VW missed the train just like nokia did with android

[@Jan-qg1iy]

@@miloraddjurdjic1695, people don't *_"want"_* EVs. They're getting the EVs crammed down their throats by government regulation. EVs are nothing but nature predatory, wallet breaking trash.