RC:

VW doesn't seem to understand US mentality, this was also reflected in the failure to establish the brand perception in the US. While VW had a very good brand perception in Europe before the scandal, in the US it was pretty bad already for various reasons. ...

And they don't seem to be any closer to understanding it:

http://blog.caranddriver.com/make-volkswagen-great-again-vw-says-three-row-suvs-name-will-sound-american/

Hey, VW, hint, your problems are not related to vehicle names, and different names in the US vs the ROW just creates confusion.