Volkswagen Group’s February sales dip as brand takes a hit in Americas and China

The cumulative sales of the first two months did manage to stabilise the situation as the Group sold 1.54 million units as against 1.51 million units sold in the same period last year, up 1.4 percent year-on-year (YoY).

By Autocar Professional Bureau

14 Mar 2016

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The Volkswagen Group failed to continue its positive start to the year as global sales in February went down by 1.2 percent. The Group sold a total of 693,300 units in February 2016 compared to the 701,500 units sold in the same month last year.

However, the cumulative sales of the first two months did manage to stabilise the situation as the Group sold 1.54 million units as against 1.51 million units sold in the same period last year, up 1.4 percent year-on-year (YoY).

In Europe, the Group sold 312,000 vehicles in February, an increase of 5.7 percent compared with the previous year. Western Europe in particular developed well (+6.5 percent), with strong momentum coming above all from the home market of Germany (+7.7 percent) and the markets in Southern Europe. The markets in Central and Eastern Europe also recorded slight growth in this period, but the continued tense situation in Russia (-17 percent) had a negative impact.

Meanwhile, the negative trend in North America region continued with sales falling by 2.5 percent in February with a total of 62,300 vehicles sold. The United Sales, the region’s largest single market, also saw a considerable decline of 7.2 percent with sales of 37,700 units. Further, South America saw the biggest decline for the Group as sales went down by 26 percent with 34,100 units sold in February 2016 as against 46,000 in the same month last year. The downturn on the South American market continues as a result of the poor overall economic situation in Brazil, which sold 21,700 units, down 35.8 percent.

Also, sales in China were affected by the late Chinese New Year. At 227,400 units, sales went down by 1.8 percent compared to the previous year.

Commenting on the overall sales, Fred Kappler, head of Group Sales at Volkswagen AG said, “The Volkswagen Group and its brands made a stable start to the new year. Europe in particular saw positive development in February. However, the situation remains tense in some regions. The overall economic situation in Brazil, for example, is still challenging.”