1 - yes obviously the same principle of German gov't subsidized easy credit would apply to new leases and to the purchase of 2-3 year old lease return Volkswagens and Audis. As to the 'used vehicle' market, which must obtain financing via 3rd party lenders rather than the financial wings of an auto manufacturer ... high creditwortiness requirements, down payment equity requirements, etc. will take the greatest toll on this segment. It doesn't help if a 3 year old car that originally stickered for $20k+ is now selling for $10k if you don't have $2,500 in cash for the down payment and don't have a 720 credit score to get a loan approved.
2 - new car affordability comes from both ends of the spectrum ... the income of the buyer, but also the production cost of the new car. And without after-tax profits, its doubtful that pay raises are going to be an issue at the vast majority of employers regardless of the union auto worker pay rates in effect.
3 - this point actually revolves around 'domestic content' to some degree ... which VW has lacked. However, despite current economic conditions VW is going ahead with a huge new US auto assembly plant in an effort to bridge these 'domestic content' issues ... which stem from rental cars to taxi fleets to police cars.





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