Tanking Dollar Will Keep VW Scirocco Out of U.S.

If the resurrected Volkswagen Scirocco excited your hatchback-loving heart, we'll try to let you down easy: The Scirocco will not be coming to the U.S.

In an interview with Bloomberg News, VW sales and marketing chief Detlef Witig did not mince words when he said the reason the company will keep the vehicle out of U.S. showrooms is the weakness of the dollar, which keeps breaking records for its all-time low against the Euro.

"The exchange rate is the only reason for not selling it in the U.S.," Witig said of the Scirocco. He even granted that the vehicle would fit well into the U.S. market, but there was simply no way to make money shipping it from a plant in Portugal.

Does that mean there's no way we'll ever see the Scirocco? Not necessarily. VW is scouting locations in the U.S. for a new North American factory, and one would hope that someday the dollar will rebound (so maybe our grandchildren can buy one).

VW Won't Sell Scirocco in U.S. Due to Dollar's Drop (Bloomberg via Autoblog)

Comments

[jyd]

So, first their not going to bring the Rabbit Diesel Hybrid to the US which gets 70-80 mpg and now they've decided against bringing the Scirocco over. I guess we'll have to plod on with the undersized Jetta, overpriced Passat, aging New Beetle and uninspired new Rabbit. We sure wouldn't want to get any exciting or competitive cars into the marketplace.

[DodgeFan]

This isn't anything new, cars.com in many articles has said this car isn't U.S. bound.

[Red]

This is no loss. There are plenty of sporty front drive compacts on the market. It's not like the Sciroccos of the 80s were classic cars. In fact, they were cramped rust buckets.