[Mediapen=Kim Sang-jun] Volkswagen newly sought to revive sales in Korea with the Arteon model after their cars were banned due to the Dieselgate and the manipulation of emissions. However, the company recently ordered to stop releasing Arteon model on September 17th.

Apparently, Volkswagen failed to learn a lesson from their past mistakes. Korean customers are now infuriated by their urgent stoppage of Arteon without a clear explanation. Both the car dealers and customers are confused.

No “one” dealer from 10 Volkswagen showroom knew the reason for the suspension. They just had to follow given instructions and were frustrated themselves as they had to explain this to customers.

Getting in contact with the Volkswagen Korea PR team was impossible. Whenever a problem occurred, Volkswagen Korea kept their silence. This wasn’t the first time. Measures for the Dieselgate is still ongoing and recalls for the transmission failures are very sluggish. 

Volkswagen Korea is completely ignoring and undermining consumers. In particular, Korean consumers. 

“I feel like I am the bad guy not being able to explain to customers the clear reasons for the sudden change,” said a dealer who requested anonymity. “Customers are protesting and even withdrawing contracts.”

A customer who was considering to buy either Arteon or Tiguan said in a disappointed voice that he lost his trust in Volkswagen. “For imported cars, the brand value and reputation is usually more important than the performance. There’s no value left in the Volkswagen brand who repeats lying.”

This ‘Arteon crisis’ will definitely have an adverse affect on the future sales of the Tiguan model. Volkswagen Korea needs to come up with an acceptable explanation.