The Volkswagen Group delivered 3.87 (January-May 2012: 3.65; +5.9 percent)* million vehicles from January to May. The company handed over 816,500 (May 2012: 763,900; +6.9 percent)* vehicles to customers in the month of May. “Overall, development of the Volkswagen Group brands in the period to May was stable, albeit at different levels. In particular Audi, Volkswagen Passenger Cars and Porsche as well as SEAT maintained delivery levels in spite of continuing difficult market conditions”, Group Board Member for Sales Christian Klingler said in Wolfsburg on Friday. Klingler went on to say: “Meanwhile, developments on markets worldwide remain uneven and are characterized by continuing economic uncertainty, above all in Western Europe. In contrast, the sales situation in China remains encouraging.”
Group brands delivered a total of 1.53 (1.58; -3.5 percent) million vehicles on the overall European market from January to May, of which 799,100 (825,800; -3.2 percent) were handed over in Western Europe (excluding Germany). In the home market of Germany, 473,100 (493,900; -4.2 percent) customers opted for a new vehicle. Europe’s largest automaker delivered 254,000 (262,600; -3.3 percent) vehicles in Central and Eastern Europe. 120,900 (122,500; -1.3 percent) units were handed over to customers in Russia during the same period.
Deliveries in the North America region from January to May grew by 13.0 percent to 360,000 (318,700) units, of which 249,300 (224,100; +11.2 percent) were handed over in the United States. In South America, the Volkswagen Group delivered 375,400 (376,700; -0.4 percent) vehicles to customers during the same period, of which 276,300 (273,000; +1.2 percent) were handed over to customers in Brazil.
Group figures for the Asia-Pacific region remained encouraging. 1.43 (1.23; +16.4 percent) million vehicles were handed over to customers there in the period to May, of which 1.28 (1.08; +18.2 percent) million units were delivered in China, the Group’s largest single market. In contrast, deliveries in India dropped to 41,300 (51,700; -20.2 percent) vehicles.
Outline of developments at Group brands
The Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand delivered 2.41 (2.29; +5.3 percent) million vehicles to customers worldwide from January to May. The brand developed well in the Asia-Pacific region, handing over 1.07 (0.91; +17.6 percent) million vehicles there. In the North America region, Volkswagen Passenger Cars delivered 252,700 (242,100; +4.4 percent) models, while deliveries on the overall European market, which remained difficult, ran at 688,900 (743,000; -7.3 percent).
Audi delivered 640,200 (600,200; +6.7 percent) vehicles to customers worldwide in the period to May. Deliveries by the premium brand from Ingolstadt developed well in the Asia-Pacific region, where 218,500 (189,000; +15.6 percent) models were handed over to customers. In the North America region, Audi delivered 73,600 (64,000) vehicles during the same period, an increase of 14.9 percent.
The sports car manufacturer Porsche, which became a Volkswagen Group brand on August 1, 2012, delivered a total of 67,300 vehicles in the first five months. Demand for models built by the Stuttgart-based carmaker was especially high in the Asia-Pacific region, where 20,000 vehicles were delivered, and in the North America region, where 19,400 models were handed over to customers.
ŠKODA delivered a total of 377,200 (405,500; -7.0 percent) vehicles from January to May. The Czech automaker handed over 96,700 (107,600; -10.1 percent) units in Central and Eastern Europe and 111,600 (120,900; -7.7 percent) vehicles in the Asia-Pacific region.
SEAT delivered 149,100 (134,300; +11.0 percent) vehicles worldwide in the period to May, thus continuing the upward trend. The Spanish brand recorded growth above all in Germany, where deliveries increased by 30.9 percent to 30,700 (23,500) units, in the UK, where the company handed over 18,500 (16,500; +12.6 percent) vehicles to customers, and in Mexico, where deliveries ran at 9,200 (8,500; +8.2 percent) models.
Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles delivered 219,900 (220,600; -0.3 percent) vehicles to customers from January to May, of which 66,800 (67,100; -0.5 percent) units were handed over in Western Europe (excluding Germany). In contrast, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles grew deliveries in the South America region by 10.9 percent to 61,800 (55,700) units.
*) including deliveries by the Porsche brand from August 1, 2012; excluding MAN and Scania