2021 (Full Year) USA: Volkswagen of America Car Model and SUV Sales

In 2021, Volkswagen of America vehicle sales in the USA increased by 15% with the top-selling VW car models the Tiguan, Atlas, and Jetta.

In 2021, Volkswagen of America vehicle sales in the USA increased by 15% with the top-selling VW car models the Tiguan, Atlas, and Jetta.
© Volkswagen AG

In full calendar year 2021, Volkswagen of America vehicle sales in the USA were 15% higher at 375,030 vehicles compared to 325,784 cars in 2020 and higher than the 363,322 VW cars sold in 2019. The top-selling models were SUVS: the Tiguan and the Atlas with sales firmer while passenger car sales were generally weaker with the VW Jetta again the most important car model for Volkswagen in the USA.

Volkswagen USA Sales by Model in 2021 (Full Year)

Volkswagen sales in the USA by model were as follows during 2021 (January to December):

 20212020Yr/Yr%
 Golf2,941 6,063 -51.5% 
 GTI6,183 11,461 -46.1% 
 Golf R27 1,193 -97.7% 
 Jetta61,967 82,662 -25.0% 
 Passat24,396 22,964 6.2% 
 Arteon5,537 3,602 53.7% 
 ID.416,742 – N/A 
 Taos31,682 – N/A 
 Tiguan109,743 100,687 9.0% 
 Atlas72,384 58,293 24.2% 
 Atlas Cross Sport43,303 29,069 49.0% 
 Total Atlas115,687 87,362 32.4% 
 Discontinued   models*125 9,790 -98.7% 
 Total Car101,167 137,663 -26.5% 
 Total SUV273,864 188,121 45.6% 
 TOTAL 375,030 325,784 15.1% 

*Discontinued model sales include the Beetle, Beetle Convertible, e-Golf, CC, Golf SportWagen, Tiguan Limited, and Touareg vehicles.

Volkswagen USA Sales Highlights in 2021

While VW passenger car sales in the USA were again lower in 2021, SUV sales were stronger across all model ranges. SUVs played an increasingly important role for Volkswagen in the USA with SUV sales increasingly gaining market share since 2014. In 2021, 73% of all Volkswagens sold in the USA were SUVs compared to 58% in 2020

Traditional passenger cars continued to lose sales in the USA with sales of the high volume Jetta down by a quarter and the future of the Passat uncertain.

VW sold 16,742 of the battery-electric ID4.4 SUV in the USA in 2021. VW claimed two-thirds of ID4 buyers were new to Volkswagen and for 9 out of ten the ID4 was a first electric car purchase. ID4 production is due to start in Chattanooga, TN, in 2022.

Car Sales by Brand in the USA in 2021 (Full Year)

→ USA Car Sales by Brand in 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018

Car Sales by Brand in the USA in 2021 (Full Year):

Note: Sales data as provided by manufacturers. Definitions may vary.

About Volkswagen of America

Founded in 1955, Volkswagen of America, Inc., an operating unit of Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (VWoA) is headquartered in Herndon, Virginia. It is a subsidiary of Volkswagen AG, headquartered in Wolfsburg, Germany.

VWoA’s operations in the U.S. include research and development, parts and vehicle processing, parts distribution centers, sales, marketing and service offices, financial service centers, and its manufacturing facility in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

The Volkswagen Group is one of the world’s largest producers of passenger cars and Europe’s largest automaker. Volkswagen sells the Arteon, Atlas, Atlas Cross Sport, Golf, Golf GTI, Golf R, ID.4, Jetta, Jetta GLI, Passat, Taos, and Tiguan vehicles through more than 600 independent U.S. dealers.

About the author:

Henk Bekker

Henk Bekker is a freelance writer with over 20 years of experience in online writing. His best-selling cars website has been reporting car sales statistics since 2008 with classic car auction prices focusing on the most expensive automobiles sold at public auctions in the past decade. He also owns the travel websites European-Traveler.com and Lake Geneva Switzerland. Henk holds an MBA from Edinburgh Business School and an MSc in Finance from the University of London.