April 21: The Volkswagen Group has announced a strong rise in deliveries during the first quarter of 2012. The company delivered 2.16 million vehicles excluding MAN and Scania trucks (January-March 2011: 1.97; +9.6 per cent), surpassing the two million mark for the first time in the first quarter of a year.
The Group also reported record deliveries for the month of March: 862,700 (March 2011: 767,100; +12.5 percent) vehicles were delivered to customers for the first time ever in a single month. “The Volkswagen Group developed very well in the first quarter. It posted another strong performance in North America, China and Russia. However, uncertainty continues, particularly in the markets in Western Europe,” said the Group Board Member for Sales, Christian Klingler.
The Group brands delivered a total of 937,000 (908,300; +3.2 percent) vehicles on the overall European market in the first quarter. 507,100 (531,900; -4.7 percent) customers took delivery of a new vehicle in Western Europe (excluding Germany), currently a difficult market. In the home market of Germany, Europe’s largest automotive group grew deliveries to 282,400 (267,300; +5.7 percent) units. The company once again reported strong growth in the Central and Eastern Europe region, handing over 147,400 (109,100; +35.1 percent) vehicles to customers there.
The Group also announced encouraging figures for the Asia / Pacific region, delivering 726,100 (621,800; +16.8 percent) vehicles there in the first quarter, of which 633,900 (548,500; +15.6 per cent) units were handed over to customers in China, the largest single market. In India, deliveries increased by 21.6 percent to 34,100 (28,100) units.
Deliveries also continued to develop well on the American continent. The number of vehicles sold in the North America region from January to March rose by 24.5 per cent to 179,100 (143,900), of which 124,400 (92,800; +34.0 percent) were delivered in the United States, the region’s largest single market. The Volkswagen Group handed over 229,400 (220,900; +3.9 percent) vehicles to customers in the South America region during the same period.