Volkswagen January Sales Bloom, 41 Percent Up

After throughout the week manufacturers across the globe posted encouraging sales numbers for the first month of 2010, is German carmaker Volkswagen's turn to top them all and post an apparently incredible 41.3 percent rise in deliveries. We say "apparently" because, as you all know, the numbers are compared to an extremely week January 2009. Still...

“We are very pleased with the successful start to the year. It shows we are excellently positioned with our model range. But this good performance must not lead us to underestimate the challenges that lie ahead in 2010. The situation on international automotive markets remains tense,” Christian Klingler, Group Board Member for Sales said.

“However, there are still extremely dynamic markets such as China, where we intend to benefit from an above-average share of the expected positive trend thanks to our strong market position.”

The Volkswagen brand sold 359,300 cars worldwide, representing a 46.2 percent increase in sales, with the Golf leading the way – 45,600 units sold. It was closely followed by its little brother, the Polo, with a 82 percent increase to 40,200 units sold.

Audi also contributed to the group's positive results, selling 38.6 percent more vehicles than last year (77,800). Skoda (54,100 vehicles/54.5 percent increase) and Seat (24,300/22.9 percent increase) complete the picture of a month to remember.

The leading market for Volkswagen last month was China, which literally doubled its last year figures (98.8 percent up), reaching a never-before seen 166,900 units sold. At the opposite end, Russia dropped 22.3 percent, to a now insignificant 5,100 units.