Volkwagen U.S. sales plummet after emissions scandal

Volkswagen of America announced lackluster sales figures on Tuesday showing a large drop in sales during the month of November.

Volkswagen sold fewer than 24,000 cars in the month of November, posting a drop of 24.7 percent, which is 7,843 fewer cars than the November 2014 sales figures of 31,725 car sales.

Volkswagen stock fell more than one percent after the release of the November sales numbers, which shows the Volkswagen Golf falling by 64 percent from the previous year, and the famed Beetle series of cars falling by a combined 39.3 percent from the previous year. The Volkswagen Beetle is the second-best selling car in world history.

These sales figures come in the wake of an emissions scandal in which the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a notice of violation of the Clean Air Act to the company after discovering that the company had manipulated their turbocharged direct injection diesel engines to mislead laboratory emissions tests to the effect that certain pollutants met U.S. standards.

The EPA report indicates that the cars produced up to 40 times higher nitrogen oxide in real-world driving than in the laboratory setting.

Volkswagen Group CEO Martin Winterkorn resigned shortly after various countries began taking legal action against Volkswagen. Several other high ranking officers within Volkswagen Group, including those from Audi and Porsche were suspended.

In a statement, Volkswagen said the drop reflected "the impact of the recent stop-sale for all 2.0L 4-cylinder TDI vehicles as well as for the 3.0L V6."

"Volkswagen is working tirelessly on an approved remedy for the affected TDI vehicles. During this time we would like to thank our dealers and customers for their continued patience and loyalty," said Mark McNabb, chief operating officer, Volkswagen of America. Endit