Volkswagen delivers 512,100 vehicles globally in May, down 5.1%

Volkswagen claims that it succeeded in increasing its market share in a shrinking overall market.

By Autocar Pro News Desk

12 Jun 2019

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Volkswagen Tiguan

In May, the Volkswagen brand delivered 512,100 vehicles worldwide, 5.1 percent fewer than in May 2018. There was a mixed picture in the regions: while deliveries by the brand in North America (+8.6 percent), South America (+5,4 percent) and the individual market of Germany (+2.2 percent) rose, there was, as expected, a fall in Europe (-6.1 percent). The situation in China remained unchanged.

Volkswagen sales board member Jurgen Stackmann: “In terms of deliveries, May was a month of highs and lows for Volkswagen. In North and South America, our model policy is being rewarded by outstanding delivery figures. As expected, deliveries in Europe remained under the record value for the previous year, which was boosted by strong advance buying effects as a result of WLTP. This will also be the case in June as we have not had to take any special measures in the first half of the year. In view of the high volume of orders received and an improvement in delivery capabilities for petrol engines, we continue to expect a strong second half for the brand in Europe.”

In Europe, the Volkswagen brand delivered 157,500 vehicles, 6.1 percent down on the record value for the same month last year. In Western Europe, there was a decrease of 5.5 percent to 134,500 vehicles. The home market of Germany, where 53,700 vehicles were handed over to customers in May, represented a rise of 2.2 percent. The SUV models T-Roc, T-Cross and Touareg continue to be very popular. In Western Europe, Volkswagen also recorded a fall in vehicle deliveries in Central and Easter Europe. The brand closed the month with a drop of 9.4 percent to a total of 23,000 vehicles delivered.

In the North America region, despite a shrinking overall market, the brand delivered 54,400 vehicles, a rise of 8.6 percent over May 2018. The USA made the greatest contribution to this success. In the largest single market in the region, the brand delivered 35,700 vehicles, 14.4 percent more than the same month last year. In May, the Tiguan was once again the most successful Volkswagen model, while the Atlas recorded the strongest month since its market launch. In Canada too, Volkswagen delivered more vehicles than in May 2018 (+6.6 percent). With a fall of 6.0 percent to 10,700 vehicles, Mexico had little impact on this success.

In South America, Volkswagen achieved positive overall results in May. The brand delivered 44,300 vehicles, a rise of 5.4 percent compared with the same month last year. This was mainly due to the largest single market of Brazil, where Volkswagen handed 36,500 vehicles over to customers in May, a rise of 29.8 percent. The strength of the Volkswagen brand in Brazil was also sufficient to compensate for the decline of 60.1 percent to 4,100 vehicles in Argentina. Here, the general economic situation remained difficult, with a severely shrinking overall market.

In the Asia-Pacific region, Volkswagen delivered 245,400 vehicles, down 8 percent on May 2018. The situation in China, the brand’s largest single market, remained unchanged in May. In an overall shrinking market Volkswagen handed 233,900 vehicles over to customers (-7.0 percent) and therefore succeeded in increasing its market share.