VW sells six million cars for the first time in a calendar year

Volkswagen has notched a sales landmark. Christian Klingler, Board Member for Sales and Marketing for the Volkswagen Group and the Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand, said yesterday in Wolfsburg: “The Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand closed the 10th year in succession with a new delivery record, topping the six-million mark for the first time in a 12-month period.  That means we have doubled deliveries by the brand since 2004.”

The company sold over 6.12 million vehicles to customers from January to December 2014, delivering 529,500 (December 2013: 542,300; -2.4 percent) units in December.  “We expect the existing challenging market conditions to continue in 2015. However, we believe we are very well prepared to face these challenges with new products such as the Passat or the internationally acclaimed, multi-award-winning Golf,” Klingler added.

Volkswagen sold 1.68 (1.64; +2.8 percent) million vehicles in the overall European market in 2014, of which 858,300 (811,800; +5.7 percent) were handed over to customers in Western Europe (excluding Germany).  Deliveries on the home market of Germany also grew, with 578,400 (560,100; +3.3 percent) customers taking possession of a new model there. While 244,700 (263,300; -7.1 percent) vehicles were sold in Central and Eastern Europe in the 12 months to December, 128,100 (156,300; -18.0 percent) units were handed over to customers in Russia.

Meanwhile, 586,700 (622,300; -5.7 percent) units were sold in the North America region last year, of which 367,000 (407,700; -10.0 percent) were handed over to customers in the United States.  Deliveries in the South America region from January to December decreased to 662,600 (804,300; -17.6 percent) units, of which 541,700 (623,800; -13.2 percent) were sold in Brazil.

In contrast, deliveries in the Asia-Pacific region grew by a substantial 9.0 percent from January to December 2014, with the brand handing over 2.97 (2.73) million vehicles to customers there. 2.76 (2.51; +10.0 percent) million vehicles were delivered in China (including Hong Kong) during the same period.