Emissions Scandal Catches Up With Volkswagen As November Sales Fall

Amid the fallout from Volkswagen's emissions-testing cheating scandal, the company's November sales in the United States fell nearly 25 percent from November a year ago.

Volkswagen sold just under 24,000 vehicles last month. In November of 2014, it sold almost 32,000, the Associated Press reports.

NPR's Sonari Glinton reports that while Volkswagen sales tanked, U.S. sales for car companies such as General Motors, Chrysler and Toyota rose.

November was the first month that the German automaker saw its U.S. sales drop significantly since the news of vehicles equipped with emissions-cheating "defeat devices" first broke in mid-September.

As we previously reported, U.S. sales stalled in September, but did not fall. And in October, the first full month after the scandal, sales remained stable, thanks to discounts and incentives offered by dealerships.

Volkswagen says ending its sale of the offending diesel-powered vehicles accounted for the drop in sales, The Wall street Journal reports.

"Volkswagen in September halted sales of nearly 500,000 diesel-powered vehicles with two-liter engines sold in the U.S. since 2008 that contained illegal software capable of duping emissions tests. In November, Volkswagen halted sales of another 85,000 vehicles with three-liter diesel engines amid allegations they, too, contained defeat devices."