The core brand of the Volkswagen Group has been left hurting badly after sluggish demand in two major markets resulted in the first sales decrease in over a year. VW Passenger Cars managed 507,100 deliveries in January 2011, 2.8% less than the 521,600 managed in the same month of 2014.
This time, Europe wasn't the one to blame. Demand for VWs actually grew 3.6 percent in Germany and was flat in the rest of Western Europe. However, the Chinese market began showing signs of slowing down, with sales down by 0.7% to 267,800.
In Russia, where the ruble has been hammered by the slump in oil prices and tensions with the West over Ukraine, sales plunged 28% to just 6,200 cars.
Spurred by the 2015 Golf and Jetta, demand actually picked up in the US, but Brazil plummeted by 15% and took the rest of the South American market with it. This could end up hurting the Up! city car, since its future seems to hinge on this market and profit margins in Europe A-segment are non-existent.
"Deliveries by the Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand show we are facing a challenging year. Volkswagen was not immune to the uncertainties in some regions that have continued into the current year", Christian Klingler, Board Member for Sales and Marketing for the Volkswagen Group and the Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand, commented in Wolfsburg on Wednesday.
And a challenging year is exactly what VW doesn't want. It's a major roadblock on the VW Groups ascendents to the No.1 spot in the industry, a spot still held by Toyota. Last year, Audi, Porsche, Skoda and all the other brands delivered a combined 10.1 million cars, 6 million of which were Volkswagens.
In Russia, where the ruble has been hammered by the slump in oil prices and tensions with the West over Ukraine, sales plunged 28% to just 6,200 cars.
Spurred by the 2015 Golf and Jetta, demand actually picked up in the US, but Brazil plummeted by 15% and took the rest of the South American market with it. This could end up hurting the Up! city car, since its future seems to hinge on this market and profit margins in Europe A-segment are non-existent.
"Deliveries by the Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand show we are facing a challenging year. Volkswagen was not immune to the uncertainties in some regions that have continued into the current year", Christian Klingler, Board Member for Sales and Marketing for the Volkswagen Group and the Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand, commented in Wolfsburg on Wednesday.
And a challenging year is exactly what VW doesn't want. It's a major roadblock on the VW Groups ascendents to the No.1 spot in the industry, a spot still held by Toyota. Last year, Audi, Porsche, Skoda and all the other brands delivered a combined 10.1 million cars, 6 million of which were Volkswagens.