October was a terrible month for VW - but its emissions scandal wasn't the problem

Volkswagen released their latest batch of sales data for the US market on Tuesday and it wasn't a pretty sight.

Sales in the month of the October plummeted 18.46% over the same period last year and is down 13.09% for the year.

The most glaring figure in the latest numbers include a 31% fall in the sales of its Tiguan compact crossover that is competing in a segment that's seeing strong growth.

In addition, VW's bread-and-butter Jetta and Passat sedans saw sales slip 5.6% and 23.2%, respectively, last month.

Even the introduction of the hot-selling Alltrack wagon couldn't prevent sales of the company's award-winning Golf family from falling 10%.

More concerning is the fact that these sales figures come amid heavy incentive spending from Volkswagen resulting in generous discounts and attractive lease deals.

While the convenient culprit for the the brand's poor sales performance would be its year-long emissions cheating scandal, it's not that simple.

"Even without the scandal, VW's sales would still be down just probably not as much," Kelley Blue Book senior analyst Karl Brauer told Business Insider in an interview.

"I don't think, at this point, the diesel news is on the minds of most consumers," Brauer added. "I think the bulk of it is their lack of a competitive SUV lineup."

Both of Volkswagen's current SUVs, the compact Tiguan and the mid-size Touareg, have been on the market for more than half a decade. As result, they have not been able to remain competitive with more modern and cost effective offerings from America, Japanese, and Korean rivals.

"What Volkswagen really needs is the what they showed off last week in LA," Brauer said in reference to the brand's new 7-seat Atlas SUV that's expected to reach showrooms next Spring.

Since VW has never done a vehicle of its type in the US, it will need to invest significant time and money to create awareness for the Atlas. Still, a new three-row, crossover SUV is exactly what the US market craves right now and should be a significant boost of Volkswagen.

In addition to the scandal and the lack of competitive SUVs, it should also be noted that last October was one of the best sales months in the history of the US auto market. In addition, October 2016 had two fewer sales days versus 2015 as well as the negative impact of Hurricane Matthew which affected car sales on the East Coast, Brauer wrote in an email.

So far this year, VW has sold 256,047 cars in the US with 24,779 of those in October.