VW bucks global market trend and delivered 3.27 million vehicles

Despite difficult market conditions, mainly due to the inflationary effect of the oil bubble, VW managed to improve on its first half sales, bumping it up by more than five per cent.Then again the group is known for their small and economical cars and their TDI and TFSI direct injection diesel and petrol technologies are considered as the leading edge of mass market engines.

Also consider the fact that Toyota is pushing Prius production and promising 70 per cent more the model by next year and they are ramping up battery production.

Below is the full Press Release

VOLKSWAGEN GROUP DELIVERS 3.27 MILLION VEHICLES WORLDWIDE IN FIRST SIX MONTHS OF 2008

Delivery record despite deteriorating economic conditions in auto sector

Wolfsburg, 21 July 2008 – The Volkswagen Group delivered 3.27 million vehicles worldwide (+5.8 percent) from January to June 2008, the highest figure ever for the first six months of a year. Group worldwide deliveries in June also reached a new record: compared with the same period last year, the number of vehicles delivered rose by 2.4 percent to 573,000. As a result, the development of deliveries by the Group both for the period January to June and for the month of June was significantly better than developments on the overall market (+1 percent from January to June and -5.1 percent in June).

In China, the Group delivered 531,600 vehicles (+23.2 percent), thus topping the half a million mark for the first time in the first half of a year. The Group also achieved strong growth from January to June in Brazil, where deliveries rose by 21.8 percent to 316,000, and in Central and Eastern Europe (+18.7 percent to 282,000). The Group’s highest percentage growth in the first six months of 2008 came from India (+69.2 percent to 10,400 vehicles), Russia (+63.3 percent to 59,000 vehicles) and Ukraine (+46.9 percent to 25,900 vehicles).

In Europe, the Group delivered 1.84 million vehicles (+1.3 percent) from January to June, of which 534,000 (+3.7 percent) were delivered in Germany. In Western Europe (excluding Germany), where the market remained generally weak, the Group delivered 1.07 million vehicles (-3.6 percent).

“With our customer-oriented model diversity and a focused growth strategy we have achieved a marked increaseZitat Detlef Wittig: in our worldwide deliveries even though negative factors are accumulating,” Detlef Wittig, Executive Vice President, Group Sales and Marketing, commented. “The storm clouds are clearly gathering over the world’s automobile markets. Nevertheless, thanks to the strength of our brands and our model range, our development in June and throughout the first six months of 2008 has clearly been better than general market trends and we have grown our market shares worldwide.”

Volkswagen Passenger Cars, the Group’s highest volume brand, delivered 1.9 million vehicles (+5.8 percent) worldwide in the first half of the year. Audi delivered 516,000 vehicles (+1.4 percent) and Skoda delivered 367,000 vehicles (+17.9 percent). Seat sold 206,000 vehicles (-7.5 percent), Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles delivered 264,000 vehicles (+12.9 percent). Bentley delivered 4,700 vehicles to customers, Lamborghini 1,300 and Bugatti 35.