Volkswagen Group sales up 3.8% in 2016 despite emissions crisis

The Group sold 10.3 million vehicles worldwide in 2016. Sales in December rose by 11.8 percent to 933,300 vehicles.

By Autocar Pro News Desk

11 Jan 2017

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Volkswagen Group sales up 3.8% in 2016 despite emissions crisis

The Volkswagen Group sold 10.3 million vehicles worldwide in the calendar year 2016, a rise of 3.8 percent compared with the prior-year figure. Sales in December rose by 11.8 percent to 933,300 vehicles.

Matthias Müller, CEO of the Volkswagen Group, commented: "2016 was a very challenging year for us. We made strides in resolving and overcoming the diesel crisis and at the same time initiated a fundamental change process with ‘Together – Strategy 2025' to get Volkswagen ready for the future of mobility. Nonetheless, we managed to stabilise operating business in difficult conditions: the fact that we handed over more than 10 million vehicles to customers last year bolsters the Group and its brands as we head for the future."

Full-year sales by the Volkswagen Group brands in Europe in 2016 totalled 4.2 million units (+4 percent), of which 340,600 new vehicles (+9.2 percent) were sold in December. Sales by the Group in Western Europe in December rose by 9.2 percent to 282,100 units. The company recorded strong growth in the UK, Italy and France in December. On the other hand, 92,900 vehicles were sold in Germany in December – a decrease of 2.6 percent. Sales in Central and Eastern Europe during the same month rose by 8.8 percent to 58,500 units.

The Group sold over 939,100 new vehicles (+0.8 percent) in the North America region last year, of which 94,000 vehicles were sold in December, up 10.3 percent. Sales in the USA (+16.1 percent) contributed decisively to the positive trend. The Group sold 36,500 vehicles in South America in December – a rise of 5.0 percent compared with the previous year.

Further, 4.3 million new vehicles (+9.7 percent) were sold in the Asia-Pacific region in 2016, of which 4.0 million (+12.2 percent) were sold in China. Group sales to the Chinese market rose by 18.6 percent in December, with customers taking possession of 390,600 vehicles. In India, Volkswagen branded cars sold 47,323 units in 2016, a near 10 percent rise compared to the 43,163 units it sold in 2015. The company also manufactured a record 145,145 cars last year.

"In 2017 we will be intensifying our efforts in the major technological fields of the future, in e-mobility, autonomous vehicles, the digitalization of our products and our Company. At the same time, though, we will not be neglecting today's core business. Our Group brands will be putting almost 60 new vehicles on the road for their customers during the coming year. Apart from entirely new concepts, these include many of the brands' core models such as the new Volkswagen Polo and Touareg, ŠKODA Yeti, SEAT Ibiza, Porsche Cayenne, Audi A8 and Bentley Continental GT. We are also systematically continuing with our e-mobility offensive and will be launching more than 10 new models with electric drives in 2017/18," summed up Müller.