The Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand delivered 2.91 (January-June 2012: 2.79; +4.4 percent) million vehicles worldwide in the first half of the year. The brand handed over 501,000 (June 2012: 498,600; +0.5 percent) vehicles to customers in the month of June. “Developments at Volkswagen Passenger Cars in the first six months were stable thanks to the brand’s convincing model range. The new Golf in particular has met with an excellent response from our customers. So far, we have already delivered well over 250,000 new Golf to customers worldwide. And the new Golf Variant will generate further momentum”, Christian Klingler, Board Member for Sales and Marketing for the Volkswagen Group and the Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand, said in Wolfsburg on Tuesday, and added: “At the same time, though, the challenges on difficult global markets, especially the considerable uncertainties in Europe, will undoubtedly continue to have a significant impact in the second half of the year.”
The tense situation on European markets was already obvious during the first six months. As a result, the Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand delivered 843,600 (908,000; -7.1 percent) vehicles on the overall European market during the first half year, of which 427,800 (464,300; -7.9 percent) units were handed over in Western Europe (excluding Germany). Deliveries on the home market of Germany were also down, with customers taking possession of 283,400 (309,700; -8.5 percent) new vehicles. Volkswagen Passenger Cars delivered 132,400 (134,000; -1.2 percent) vehicles in Central and Eastern Europe in the period to June. The company handed over 77,300 (81,100; -4.7 percent) units in Russia.
In contrast, the brand grew deliveries by 17.3 percent in the Asia-Pacific region in the first half year, handing over 1.28 (1.09) million vehicles to customers there. 1.17 (0.98; +19.4 percent) million units were delivered in China (incl. Hong Kong) during the same period. In India, on the other hand, deliveries dropped to 31,800 (36,400; -12.6 percent) units.
In the North America region, Volkswagen Passenger Cars grew deliveries by 3.9 percent to 307,000 (295,300) units in the period to June, of which 206,800 (208,700; -0.9 percent) models were handed over to customers in the USA. In the South America region, deliveries from January to June decreased by 7.5 percent to 361,600 (390,900) units, of which 272,100 (293,600; -7.3 percent) were handed over in Brazil.