VW reports 2015 sales increase
The Volkswagen Group sold more than 9.93m in 2015, despite being rocked by the emissions scandal in September.
VW reported that 3.43m customers in Western Europe bought one of its cars, a rise of 4.8 per cent on 2014. Growth in Spain and Italy was particularly strong, although the instability in Russia contributed to a fall of 36.8% in that country.
The company also reported a small growth in North America, although sales in South America continued to fall.
VW’s largest single market was China, where 3.55m units were sold.
Matthias Müller, CEO of Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft, said, ‘Delivering almost ten million vehicles is an excellent result, particularly in view of the continued challenging market situation in some regions as well as the diesel issue in the final quarter of last year.
‘While developments in the markets of Brazil and Russia had a noticeable impact on deliveries by our brands, we made advances in Europe. We also recorded further growth in the North America region and in the USA.”
Muller also predicted a challenging 2016, ‘On the one hand, as a global company we must handle the situation on world markets where trends remain mixed. And on the other, it is our wish and intention to systematically make the Group fit for a successful future. We are currently preparing our ‘Strategy 2025’, which for me is the most important step towards a modern Volkswagen.’
