Sales of Volkswagen, the largest car manufacturer in Europe, rose by 5.5% in the first half to 4.7 million cars, despite the crisis in Europe and other world regions, as the sales figures were supported by the positive development recorded in China.
Between markets outside Europe, the largest increases in sales were recorded in China and North America, according to the German group, which pointed out in a statement that “Vehicle deliveries grew to 4.7 million in the first half of 2013 from 4.45 million in the year-earlier period.”
The deliveries in China rose by 18.7% and in North America by 12.3%, contributing to the results described as satisfactory by the head of sales division of Volkswagen, Christian Klingler: “Volkswagen deliveries made satisfactory progress even though market conditions were not always easy. However, the economic climate remains tense, especially in Europe.”
“We remain on course and are entering the second half of the year with confidence. Nevertheless, the enormous challenges persist,” Christian Klinger added. The German car manufacturer has improved its results in the first half, even though the global economic development has affected the automotive market, according to him.
In the first six months of 2013, deliveries in Europe fell by 3.5% to 1.87 million units, as many countries, particularly in the euro area are still in recession.
However, sales of VW brand were up in the first six months by 4.4 percent, reaching 2.91 million units helped by a strong growth in China. A similar growth in China was recorded by the Audi brand with a global growth of 6.4 percent or 780,000 cars sold. Seat sales were also up, by 11.5 percent in the first half of 2013. On the other hand, sales of Skoda brand dropped by 5.8 percent.
Volkswagen announced Friday that it wants to open five new factories in China this year. The factories are part of the investment plan of the group, which aims to open seven new production facilities in the Asian state for cars and components manufacturing.
Currently, Volkswagen produces 20 models under the brands Volkswagen, Skoda and Audi in China. By 2015, the group wants to produce 30 models in China.
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