This is not an official release from Volkswagen of America.
Routan showed a percentage gain month-over-month and year-over-year.
The press is playing up the possibility that the Routan may be discontinued. See the article Get It Straight--the Routan Is a Phenomenal Seller on this blog for a discussion why the Routan would not be discontinued because of sales numbers.
Research by Truecar.com indicates that 23.3% of Routan owners are younger than 35. Only the Volkswagen GTI has more owners under 35 in the U.S. at 23.4%. It would appear that Gen Y views the Routan as the best choice if they have to drive a minivan. Once they buy it, they seem to love it, as seen by their entries on blogs and Twitter.
On February 6, 2008, Associated Press reported, in part: "[Volkswagen of America President and CEO Stefan] Jacoby said the minivan market still is approaching 1 million vehicles a year, and Volkswagen would like to capture 3 to 5 per cent of that." Jacoby has since left the company to go to Volvo, but the Routan is still doing what they expected it to do.
PRNewswire published the June and YTD sales figures of the auto-makers who sell in the U.S. From these reports, we glean the following data:
Brand YTD - 06/10
Chrysler 60,937
Dodge 49,923
Honda 52,567
Kia 10,012
Mazda 9,295
Nissan 167(discontinued)
Toyota 43,101
Volkswagen 8,090
Total 234,092
Volkswagen's market share of van sales is 3.46%, up from Mayand still in the range Volkswagen of America was aiming for. This is, by the way, nearly twice their overall market share.
