The Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand delivered 3.37 million vehicles worldwide from January to July, almost matching the prior-year level. 449,100 vehicles were handed over to customers in July. Describing the challenging conditions, Jürgen Stackmann, Volkswagen Brand Board Member for Sales, commented: “The Volkswagen brand made a cautious start to the second half of the year in Europe. One main reason was that July had two working days less this year than last year. Another factor was the special effect caused by the general consumer reticence in some key European markets as a result of changed economic conditions.”
Volkswagen delivered 129,800 vehicles on the overall European market in July, 10.9 percent down on the previous year. Deliveries in Western Europe were 14.0 percent lower than the previous year, with the brand handing over a total of 110,500 vehicles to customers, of which 46,900
(-15.6 percent) were delivered on the home market of Germany. In Central and Eastern Europe, on the other hand, Volkswagen again grew deliveries significantly, handing over 19,300 vehicles (+12.5 percent) to customers there.
At 51,200 units, deliveries in the North America region in July were 1.7 percent down on the prior year. Volkswagen handed over 28,800 vehicles to customers in the USA in July, a decrease of 8.1 percent on the prior-year level. The Mexican market continued to develop well following the successful launch of the up! as well as new versions of the Gol, and deliveries there in July ran at 16,700 vehicles (+18.3 percent). The market situation on the South American continent remained tense. Volkswagen was not immune to this trend. At 30,200 units, deliveries in South America were 25.4 percent lower than the previous year, chiefly as a result of the sharp market downturn in Brazil.
In the Asia-Pacific region, on the other hand, Volkswagen continued on its growth path in July, handing over 223,200 units (+12.6 percent).
The growth driver was the Chinese market, where 210,500 vehicles were handed over to customers, representing a strong rise of 16.7 percent compared with the previous year. As a result, over 1.6 million vehicles were delivered in the first seven months of the year for the first time.
Commenting on the current situation on the world’s largest single market, Stackmann said: “The significant momentum on the Chinese market continues.”