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Wagons make a bit of a comeback, with new models, sales on the rise

Consider this an official invitation to hop on the wagon bandwagon. There's still tons of room because, well, it's a wagon (and market share is still extremely small). But according to new data, the segment is growing. According to a report from Bloomberg, using data from Edmunds.com, roughly 211,600 Americans purchased wagons in 2018. That is technically down from the 237,600 sold in 2017, but wagon sales in the U.S. are up 29 percent from where they were five years ago. It's also the third year in a row that wagon sales broke the 200,000 mark. The sales trends have been somewhat representative of the availability of wagons. New models have debuted during the past 5 years and therefore offer more opportunity at more brands to buy wagons. In addition to more modest cars such as the Volkswagen Golf Sportwagen, several luxury and performance brands are offering wagons today, such as Mercedes-Benz, Audi, Porsche, Jaguar, Volvo and Buick. (Bloomberg's headlines make the point that "crossovers are for the Kardashians," and wagons are just, well, classier.) This uptick in brand-name availability, as well as extremely well-executed design on most of the wagons currently available, has helped increase the segment's desirability. That, and its ability to better accomplish the same tasks at hand while standing out from the crossover and SUV crowd. Still, the posted numbers represent a small fraction of the total vehicles sold. According to the data, wagons only held a 1.4 percent market share in 2017, the segment's best recent year. Wagons hold a steadfast place in America's past, and they're writing an interesting new story. With the downturn in traditional cars, they may continue to create an unexpected narrative. Related Video: News Source: Bloomberg, Edmunds Audi BMW Buick Volkswagen Volvo Wagon station wagon

Cost-cutting measures put VW Beetle in jeopardy

Volkswagen is on a mission to cut costs. That means producing more models across its various brands based on the same platforms and powertrains, but the latest word from Germany has it that it will also mean cutting some of the VW brand's less successful models. First on the chopping block, according to German publication Der Spiegel, is the three-door version of the Polo, which will reportedly cede its place to the five-door version exclusively. The elimination of that model alone is said to save VW a good 200 million euros, putting it on its way towards reducing the brand's costs by a targeted five billion euros. The Polo isn't the only one in danger, though. The Eos, as we know, is not due to be replaced, but the future of the Beetle could be in jeopardy as well. The Beetle may be one of VW's most iconic models, but is hardly its most successful in terms of sales. With the 2014 annual report due to be released shortly, the last full-year sales figures had Volkswagen selling 109,517 Beetles in 2013. That may be more than four times the number of Scirocco models it sold, but hardly puts a dent in the 871,413 Jettas, 824,629 Golfs and 725,291 Polos it sold during the same year.

VW, Fiat, Mercedes could be CNG winners in Europe

Fiat ads in the US try to play up the exotic, sexy side of Italian culture. On the home front in Italy, however, passenger-vehicle sales are marked by something less edgy and quite a bit more practical: the growth of compressed-natural-gas (CNG) powered car sales. In fact, Italy is leading a group of European countries where CNG sales are on the upswing and may be benefiting automakers like VW, Fiat and Mercedes-Benz, according to Automotive News. VW started sales of its Golf TGI natural-gas vehicle this year – the company's fourth in Europe – while Mercedes-Benz added a natural-gas B-class model. Fiat accounts for about 50 percent of CNG vehicles sold on the continent. In all, Europe's CNG sales through September totaled about 67,000, up seven percent from a year earlier, Automotive News Europe says, citing research firm JATO Dynamics. And the number of CNG vehicles on Europe's roads could jump tenfold within the next decade. The draw is a combination of lower refueling prices and a CNG drivetrain that typically emits less CO2 than diesel vehicles. As for Italy, about five percent of new-vehicle sales are CNG. To put that into perspective, hybrids, battery-electric vehicles, plug-in hybrids and diesels combined to account for about 4.2 percent of US vehicle sales last year. News Source: Automotive News - sub. req.Image Credit: Volkswagen Green Fiat Mercedes-Benz Volkswagen Natural Gas Vehicles CNG