VW's new U.S. chief says 'plan in place' to triple sales

Washington -- Volkswagen AG, seeking to triple American sales in eight years and to assemble vehicles here for the first time since the 1980s, named a former U.S. auto executive as head of its U.S. operations.

British-born Jonathan Browning, 51, a former General Motors Co. and Ford Motor Co. executive, will succeed Stefan Jacoby, who announced in June that he was leaving VW to run Volvo for China's Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co.

"We've underperformed as an organization over a period of time," Browning told reporters in Washington, alluding to seven straight years of losses in North America, and an eighth expected in 2010. "There is a clear commitment to fix that. There's a plan in place."

He said VW wants "sustained improvement" in the United States in what he termed "a marathon."

Browning said the company, whose U.S. operations are headquartered in Virginia, "has set ourselves a very big challenge" in its sales targets.

"We know we've got a lot of work to do," he said.

James Bell, executive market analyst, Kelley Blue Book's kbb.com, praised Browning "as a perfect balance between reigniting passionate stewardship of the proud brand and establishing a level of business experience and honesty necessary to rebound from years of losses."

With his experience at Ford and GM, Bell said, Browning "should be well-placed to understand and appreciate the specifics of the U.S. market."

Volkswagen is building a $1??billion plant in Chattanooga, Tenn. The factory is scheduled to start producing an all-new VW-midsize sedan designed for U.S. customers next year.

Volkswagen also has developed a new Jetta, to be built in Mexico for the North American market. It will go on sale late this year. VW is counting on the two cars and other new models to triple U.S. sales to 800,000 by 2018 and help make it the world's largest automaker.

Browning was hired by VW in June to improve coordination of the German carmaker's international sales operations.

He was vice president of global sales, service and marketing at GM, and was chairman of GM's Vauxhall division. Browning worked for GM from 1981 to 1997 and returned in 2001 after his stint at Ford. At Ford, Browning also headed the company's Jaguar brand.