VW Reports Record Half Year

All the pieces seem to be falling into place for Europe's biggest automotive group and the 2018 target of becoming the number one in the world seems more and more reachable. The VW Group posted late last week its sales results for the first half of the year, a period which will go down in history, at least for now, as the best first six months yet.

VW delivered 3.58 million vehicles from January to June, an increase of 16 percent compared to the same period last year. In June alone, the German manufacturer and its subsidiaries managed to sell 644,600 cars.

"We are very pleased with deliveries for the first half year. Our innovative and environmentally-friendly model range is well received by customers. We are also optimistic as regards the full year and expect to perform better than the overall market," Christian Klingler, VW board member for sales said on Friday.

China lived up to its name of VW's largest market once again, the 45.7 percent increase in sales representing 950,300 units. A somewhat smaller growth was registered in the US, where the group sold 175,300, or 29.2 percent more than last year.

Each of VW's brands contributed to the growth, with the Volkswagen Passenger Cars accounting for the bulk of the total cars sold (2.26 million). Audi delivered 554,900 cars, 19.1 percent more than in the same period of 2009, while Skoda managed to maintain the upward trend, selling 14.9 percent more vehicles (378,700 units). The threatened Seat brand grew only 4.9 percent to 181,800 units.

Despite the obvious increase, VW warns that it still cannot make accurate predictions on how the year will end.

“The results of the first half year cannot be projected for the full year. The economic situation remains uncertain," Klingler added.