Compared with the value for May 2015, the Volkswagen Group grew deliveries to customers by 1.6 percent in May 2016 – throughout the world, a total of 871,500 vehicles were handed over to customers.
In the period to May, 4.2 million units were delivered, representing an increase of 0.8 percent over the corresponding period of the previous year. However, there continue to be considerable variations in growth between the regions.
Volkswagen Group sales head Fred Kappler said: "In the regions of Europe and Asia-Pacific, the Volkswagen Group was able to achieve a further increase in delivery figures and to record steady growth."
In May, the Volkswagen Group handed over 369,500 vehicles to customers in Europe. This corresponds to a rise of 4.6 percent compared with last year's figure. As expected, the Western European market developed positively (+3.4 percent), with the main impetus for growth coming from the home market of Germany (+2.6 percent), France and Italy.
May also saw strong growth in the markets of Central and Eastern Europe (+11.7 percent). While deliveries to customers in this region were still affected by the tense situation in Russia in the first quarter, the positive trend seen in the previous month continued in May. In Russia, 13,200 vehicles were delivered to customers in May - a rise of 7.5 percent compared with the previous year's figure.
In the region of North America, the Volkswagen Group handed over 367,200 vehicles to customers in the year to May, representing a slight fall compared with the previous year (-1.0 percent).
While Audi and Porsche were able to record growth in this region, deliveries by the Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand fell. In the region of South America, 38,100 vehicles were handed over to customers in the month of May (-20.4 percent).
This trend is a result of the tense economic situation in Brazil, where 23,500 vehicles were delivered to customers, representing a fall of 31.1 percent compared with the previous year.
The steady growth in the Asia-Pacific region since the beginning of the year continued. In May, the Volkswagen Group delivered 341,600 vehicles in this region.
This represents a rise of 4.1 percent compared with the previous year. The main impetus came from China (+4.9 percent) and Japan. In the year to May, 1,708,400 vehicles were handed over to customers in the Asia-Pacific region - an increase of 3.3 percent.
