Photo: Volkswagen
Volkswagen Group posted better-than-expected sales figures for the month o June, finishing the first half of 2016 surprisingly well. High demand for Audis, VWs and Skodas was reported in Central Europe and China.
This is by no means a time to be celebrating, as the paycheck for a $14.7 billion emissions settlement in America is just the first of many things that could hurt them. However, we can't help but be surprised by a sudden increase in sales: 883,400 vehicles delivered in month of June – a rise of 5.1 percent.
Europe is pretty easy to explain: the new Tiguan came out. However, the market is only up by 3.3% this year, so it's not such a big deal.
The US is down massively, 11.7% in June and 7.2% so far in 2016. Brazil is even worse, but China is making up for things. Despite fears of an economic slowdown occuring, demand for the models offered by Audi or Skoda there grew a considerable 18.7% last month. We might also link this to the release of a new Passat sedan and wagon model there.
"Solid growth overall during the first half year is partly attributable to the strong performance in June. The main impetus came from the regions of Europe and Asia-Pacific. The pleasing result reflects our customers' trust in our products even in these challenging times," said Fred Kappler, Head of Group Sales.
We looked at all the numbers published by the German carmaking group and found SEAT isn't doing so well. Their sales in June only amounted to 40,100 units, about twice those of luxury carmaker Porsche.
The Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand delivered 2.93 million vehicles to customers worldwide in the first six months of 2016, almost matching the 2016 level (2.95 million vehicles). The VW brand delivered 1.39 million vehicles in China in the first half of 2016, a new all-time sales record on this, the most important individual market. It's the same for Audi and Skoda.
In fact, with the way things are going, the next big hurdle for the world car market is guaranteed to come from there. Several of VW's offerings are tailored just for the Chinese market. Such is the case with the Lavida, a kind of Skoda Rapid sister car, and the Phideon, a replacement for the Phaeton.
Europe is pretty easy to explain: the new Tiguan came out. However, the market is only up by 3.3% this year, so it's not such a big deal.
The US is down massively, 11.7% in June and 7.2% so far in 2016. Brazil is even worse, but China is making up for things. Despite fears of an economic slowdown occuring, demand for the models offered by Audi or Skoda there grew a considerable 18.7% last month. We might also link this to the release of a new Passat sedan and wagon model there.
"Solid growth overall during the first half year is partly attributable to the strong performance in June. The main impetus came from the regions of Europe and Asia-Pacific. The pleasing result reflects our customers' trust in our products even in these challenging times," said Fred Kappler, Head of Group Sales.
We looked at all the numbers published by the German carmaking group and found SEAT isn't doing so well. Their sales in June only amounted to 40,100 units, about twice those of luxury carmaker Porsche.
The Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand delivered 2.93 million vehicles to customers worldwide in the first six months of 2016, almost matching the 2016 level (2.95 million vehicles). The VW brand delivered 1.39 million vehicles in China in the first half of 2016, a new all-time sales record on this, the most important individual market. It's the same for Audi and Skoda.
In fact, with the way things are going, the next big hurdle for the world car market is guaranteed to come from there. Several of VW's offerings are tailored just for the Chinese market. Such is the case with the Lavida, a kind of Skoda Rapid sister car, and the Phideon, a replacement for the Phaeton.
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