VW Sells One Third More Vehicles in February '10 than '09

As with just about all carmakers who posted today the sales figures for February, except Toyota, German carmaker Volkswagen announced it has started the year in style and continued in February by increasing the number of vehicles sold by 32.6 percent, compared to February 2009.

Specifically, VW sold 18,116 units last month, bringing the total number of cars sold to date to 36,135 total units, up 36.9 percent compared to the same period in 2009. The feat represents the eighth consecutive month of sales growth for the group.

"February marks Volkswagen's eighth consecutive month of sales growth, which can be attributed to our brand's full range of 13 different models," Mark Barnes, Chief Operating Officer, Volkswagen of America said.

The models which distinguished themselves last month are the Tiguan (1,690 units), the Volkswagen GTI (1,278 units) and the Passat sedan and wagon (1,627 total units).

"Our newer models such as Tiguan, Routan, CC, and all-new GTI continue to gain awareness and consideration with consumers. Our no-charge Carefree Maintenance Program, which provides full vehicle maintenance coverage for the first three years or 36,000 miles of the vehicle's lifespan, is also resonating well with consumers and helping drive showroom traffic," Mark Barnes added.

Last month, the Volkswagen Group announced a 71 percent drop in operating profits last year, to 1.86bn EUR ($2.53bn) , exceeding the company’s initial fears. As a result, it would cut down dividend payouts.