In its quest to prevent sales from plummeting, VW of America has announced it will be offering a fixed cash incentive current owners looking to buy a new car.

Exactly $2,000 will be taken off the list price of any new VW, and this rebate is compatible with all other rebates, including dealer bonuses ranging from $2,000 to $4,000 depending on model.

This was, according to Automotive News, confirmed by both a VW spokesperson and VW of America COO Mark McNabb, the latter in a memo for the dealer network.

Why VW is doing this is easy to grasp – they’re trying stop slumping sales and fleeing buyers who think it’s untrustworthy. The company did report a 0.6 percent sales increase in the US this September, but that’s minute compared to the overall market hike of 16 percent.

The source article also points to a recent KBB study that discovered that more than half of its 1,000 respondents for the study said they had a “general” or “complete” mistrust of VW; 64 percent of those polled were aware that VW had been up to no good.

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