VW Scirocco Officially No Go for U.S. Market

VW Scirocco Study R

Economy and exchange rates likely to blame

By Michael Gauthier
April 7, 2009 6:22 PM
Filed Under: Corporate/Financial, German, Production, Volkswagen

The automotive sleuths over at AutoBlog.com have officially received confirmation that the beautiful Volkswagen Scirocco won't cross the Atlantic to reach American consumers.

After acquiring an official-looking memo which stated that the car wouldn't be coming to the US, the publication decided to get in touch with Volkswagen's public relations coordinator, Tom Wegehaupt. During the course of their conversation, AutoBlog was able to confirm that the hot-hatch will not be coming stateside.

While it remains unclear as to why Volkswagen decided against bringing the model to the US, several scenarios likely spelt doom for a possible American launch. The two leading contenders appear to be the dismal economic climate and the potential of having the Scirocco steal sales from the GTI, both of which would have hampered Volkswagen's profitability.

Source: autoblog.com

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Tags: Volkswagen, VW, Volkswagen Scirocco, VW Volkswagen

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Comments

adz612

April 7, 2009 6:49 PM

poor America. my heart bleeds for them. *rolls eyes*

Renegade

April 7, 2009 7:00 PM

This is such a sad thing...not.

Schizo0223

April 7, 2009 7:01 PM

Wow...is it really that bad over there in America? It's really a shame...I saw several Sciroccos 2 weeks ago during my trip to Koln and Frankfurt, Germany. For that price the car looked fantastic.

freeway

April 7, 2009 7:29 PM

that's right, schizo0223... as a current Astra GTC owner, I must say that this new Scirocco it's an impressive car, even if the interior is similar to Golf MK5... and I will really consider this car as an option for my next "big boy toy"... and concerning the fact that this model won't make it over the Atlantic, I don't think Americans are such big fans of these "hot-hatches" so the Scirocco's success would anyway be questionable there...

Edited by user on April 7, 2009 at 8:16 PM

sub39h

April 7, 2009 7:33 PM

i don't think it's for economic reasons. i think Audi told VW to get lost so they could protect the TT. that's why they wouldn't import the S3, wasn't it?

dnmacf

April 7, 2009 8:52 PM

@ sub39h - I doubt Audi have anything to do with this. The TT is sold alongside the Scirocco in Europe and they both sell very well. There is simply no market demand in America for this car. Its a shame as its a brilliant piece of design and engineering but unfortunately less than 1% of America see's this.

dbehmoaras

April 7, 2009 7:48 PM

That's a shame. The Scirocco's a good looking car. Would have attracted a lot of potential buyers.

April 7, 2009 9:11 PM

As much as I'd like to be a pretentious jerkoff like everyone else with a comment. I think the Scirocco would have sold pretty good. The WRX is a "hot hatch" and it sells really good in the states. There is a demand for small, more affordable sports cars that is not being filled there

MadMaTTer

April 7, 2009 9:40 PM

it would defintely take sales from the GTI but what would it matter if the sales go to VW, just cause it might dethrone the GTI, let it be. infact it will draw more attention to the Marque and others looking for an alternate to the GTI will now have to do exactly that, go elsewhere.

Big Mistake VW. VW fans here in the States certainly did welcome the Scirocco with open arms but VoA once again failed to meet the desires of to their loyal fan-base

scratchy996

April 7, 2009 10:30 PM

it's about the price, they can't make a U.S. spec Scirocco and still be profitable.

MadMaTTer

April 8, 2009 6:03 PM

How so? It can be priced 2-5K more than the GTI, and it would still sell. afterall most of the parts already come from the VW-Audi parts bin.

gorgonzola

April 7, 2009 9:56 PM

sciroocoo sciroocco sciccoocoo...whatever.

brocky

April 7, 2009 10:28 PM

Forget the R20. Bring over the Rocco with a more powerful engine!

fusion01

April 7, 2009 10:43 PM

It sucks to be an American. Now even more than ever, eh?

abugatti

April 7, 2009 10:47 PM

it really sucks... nevertheless, we get better cars like 370Z or M3s at much cheaper price than anywhere in the world.

tkchan

April 8, 2009 12:23 AM

bad decision. there are many scirocco lovers in the states

pchsh02

April 8, 2009 12:28 AM

damn, that's really bad.

BabyMilo

April 8, 2009 1:09 AM

Why dont the US get all the cool Euro cars?? Like citroen and this. I feel sorry for you US scirocco lovers. I hope that it comes to AU

BemWee

April 8, 2009 1:44 AM

This is the only good looking car from VW and now they won´t to sell it in the states!?! Hahaha. I love it.

alamak

April 8, 2009 2:21 AM

hhmm....this is sad, I actually liked that car.....its more of a 'toy car'.....the GTI catered to a more matured audience.....I personally agree with scratchy996, VW just can't make it profitable enough for US market.

msinisa

April 8, 2009 7:20 PM

US is bankrupt, car sales are down

spamme

April 11, 2009 11:14 PM

unluccky americans... lol

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