The Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand delivered 1.48 (January-March 2013: 1.43; +3.9 percent) million vehicles in the first three months of this year.
The brand handed over 557,800 (March 2013: 532,400; +4.8 percent) vehicles in March 2014.
“The delivery figures for Volkswagen Passenger Cars, our core brand, in the first three months of the year were encouraging. Deliveries in Europe continued to improve and we saw further expansion in Asia in particular; however, this contrasted with a tense market situation in South America,” Christian Klingler, Board Member for Sales and Marketing for the Volkswagen Group and the Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand, said in Wolfsburg on Tuesday.
VW handed over 422,300 (396,200; +6.6 percent) vehicles on the overall European market in the first quarter, of which 225,100 (208,800; +7.8 percent) units were delivered in Western Europe (excluding Germany). Developments in the home market of Germany, where 133,100 (126,500; +5.3 percent) customers took possession of a new vehicle, were also favourable. In addition, VW grew deliveries in the Central and Eastern Europe region in the period to March, handing over 64,100 (61,000; +5.2 percent) vehicles there. The company delivered 34,300 (35,300; -2.7 percent) units in Russia.
VW recorded a 13.3 percent increase in deliveries in the Asia-Pacific region in the period to March, handing over 740,100 (653,500) vehicles to customers. 682.700 (598.100; +14.1 percent) units were delivered in China (incl. Hong Kong) during the same period.
In contrast, deliveries in India fell to 10,500 (16,600; -36.8 percent) units. The carmaker delivered 134,600 (145,700; -7.6 percent) vehicles in the North America region, of which 87,300 (98,200; -11.1 percent) models were handed over to customers in the United States. In the South America region, deliveries between January-March declined to 135,000 (176,600; -23.5 percent) units, of which 105,300 (131,200; -19.7 percent) were sold in Brazil.
Photograph: A Volkswagen India showroom in Mumbai. Sales in India fell to 10,500 units in January-March 2014 (Janaury-March 2013: 16,600), down 36.8 percent.