Volkswagen’s high-stakes bid to woo US consumers with its electric vehicles in a slowing market was a risky endeavour from the start. But with Donald Trump’s return to the White House, the American dream of Europe’s largest carmaker is looking more fraught than ever.

With its market share in China almost halving to 12 per cent in the past five years, and demand in its core European market faltering, cracking the US market has never been more critical for the world’s second-largest auto group.

“The US is our biggest hope for growth,” said one VW director in Wolfsburg. The German carmaker has said it wants to double the US market share of the group — which includes brands such as Audi and Porsche — to 10 per cent and that of its namesake brand to 5 per cent by 2030.