"There are clear signs of a revival on the overall passenger car market in many parts of the world. Thanks to our innovative, young and environmentally-friendly models we are benefiting quite significantly from this trend," Christian Klingler, Group Board Member for Sales, said in a release.
"Nevertheless, we still expect this to be a tough year. We believe that differentiated growth in the various regions of the world is likely to continue over the coming months. However, the positive trend so far strengthens our optimism about developing better than the market."
Taken brand by brand, VW Group's Volkswagen division sold the bulk of the cars in Q1, with the 1.11 million units representing a 27 percent jump in numbers. Audi grew to 264,100 vehicles (25.9 percent up), Skoda sold 178,900 units (25 percent up), while the Spanish Seat managed to complete the picture with a 15.1 percent growth, to 88,300 units.
At the forefront of the VW-friendly markets, Germany posted an increase in sales of 1.2 percent (254,400), while China increased to a record 457,300 units, meaning a 60.9 percent increase in sales.
"As expected, the German market is beginning to tail off. We successfully bucked this trend and, with a market share of 23 percent, in fact reported the highest first-quarter share for the Volkswagen brand since 1982," Klingler concluded.
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