VW Installs New U.S. Sales Head

Volkswagen AG has tapped Ronald Stach, one of its U.S. regional sales chiefs, to run its retail, fleet and remarketing operation in the country. The appointment took effect immediately.

Stach has replaced Mark Barnes, who is taking over as chief operating officer for the U.S. arm of VW’s Bentley luxury car unit.

Stach’s formidable task will be to reverse four years of declining sales. VW brand volume last year dropped 5% (to 349,400 units) in a market that grew 6% to an all-time record high of 17.5 million units, according to Autodata Corp.

VW faces strong headwinds from the negative publicity following last autumn’s revelation that it rigged 580,000 diesels vehicles in the U.S. to evade emission standards. The company also has struggled with a product lineup poorly aligned with American market demands. Analysts say VW has too many compact and midsize sedans and not enough hot-selling SUV/crossovers.