Volkswagen is likely to remain lossmaking in the US so long as the dollar remains at its current level, in spite of numerous measures to boost its weak position in the world’s largest car market, Martin Winterkorn, chief executive, said.
The comments by Mr Winterkorn show how difficult it will be for VW, Europe’s largest carmaker, to achieve its goal of challenging Toyota as the world’s dominant mass-market carmaker. “At this dollar level, break-even would be difficult,” he told the Financial Times.
The dollar’s weakness is causing VW to take drastic steps to improve its competitiveness in the US, ranging from designing models especially for the country to deciding whether to open a factory there.
Mr Winterkorn said he hoped to save a substantial sum of money by increasing the amount of parts and raw materials VW bought in the US. He said he would try to persuade suppliers to buy 80 per cent of their base materials, such as steel, precious metals and aluminium, in the US rather than, as often is the case, in Europe.
