Volkswagen has sold 2.55 million vehicles during the first five months of 2014, a 4.4% rise compared to the same period of 2013.
Deliveries grew by 3.9 percent in May, with the brand handing over 531,100 (May 2013: 511,000) vehicles to customers during that month. "The Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand has produced a very satisfactory performance so far this year - even though developments in the various sales regions have been mixed. The Asia-Pacific region remains the growth driver, followed by Western Europe", Christian Klingler, Board Member for Sales and Marketing for the Volkswagen Group and the Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand, said in Wolfsburg on Tuesday.
Volkswagen Passenger Cars delivered 712,700 (688,800; +3.5 percent) vehicles on the overall European market from January to May, of which 372,300 (351,400; +6.0 percent) were handed over in Western Europe (excluding Germany). There was also an increase in deliveries in the home market of Germany, where customers took possession of 234,400 (229,300; +2.2 percent) new vehicles in the period to May. In contrast, there was a slight decrease in deliveries in Central and Eastern Europe, where Volkswagen Passenger Cars handed over 106,000 (108,200; -2.0 percent) units. In Russia, the company delivered 56,500 (62,600; -9.7 percent) vehicles to customers.
Volkswagen Passenger Cars delivered 235,400 (254,800; -7.6 percent) vehicles in the North America region, of which 150,300 (169,800; -11.5 percent) models were handed over to customers in the United States. In the South America region, deliveries for the period to May fell by 20.3 percent to 267,600 (335,700), of which 215,700 (255,200; -15.5 percent) units were handed over in Brazil.
The brand reported a substantial increase of 17.0 percent in deliveries in the Asia-Pacific region for the period to May, handing over 1.25 (1.07) million vehicles to customers there, of which 1.16 (0.98; +18.6 percent) million units were delivered in China (incl. Hong Kong), the region's largest single market, marking the first time that deliveries for this period topped the one million mark.
