There's nothing wrong with the Volkswagen Passat -- except that too many U.S. buyers are choosing Hondas and Fords instead. Photo credit: Volkswagen

Is Volkswagen's (VWAGY -1.11%) plan for world domination in trouble?

VW has said that it aims to be the world's No. 1 automaker in sales by 2018. That would mean passing both General Motors (GM 1.20%) and Toyota (TM -3.23%), something it hasn't yet managed to do. But with VW's sales booming in China and holding steady in troubled Europe, analysts have been inclined to take the company's s goal seriously.

There's one wrench in the works, though: After big growth between 2009 and 2012, VW's U.S. sales have started to fall. In this video, Motley Fool contributor John Rosevear looks at why VW's U.S. sales are down this year, and at the German giant's prospects for recovery in what is suddenly a much tougher marketplace.