Volkswagen Group Reaches Record 8 Million Deliveries For 2011

It seems that Volkswagen, Europe’s largest automobile manufacturer, has no intention of slowing down. Sales results for 2011 revealed a sales gain of another 14.3 percent from last year. In a single December, Volkswagen completed 650,000 deliveries. However, the most staggering statistic of all is that Volkswagen Group delivered more than 8 million vehicles for the first time in a twelve-month period.

What made this result impressive is that Volkswagen reached its record figure while facing uncertainty in the European market, which only grew 5.1 percent. Volkswagen’s real gain was due to the success from its global market operations.

In 2011, the Asia/Pacific region saw its market grow 19.8 percent to 2.56 million units. China accounted for a significant majority, attributing to 2.25 million vehicles.

Next, India’s rate of growth has been so incredible, deliveries more than doubled in 2011, totaling over 111,600 Volkswagen vehicles delivered. Comparatively, Russia’s growth slots in at #2 with a 74.4 percent spike to 229,000 units.

In North America, Volkswagen delivered 666,800 units in 2011, a 21.4 percent increase over the year before. In South America, a 5.1 percent boost resulted to a total of 933,400 vehicles delivered to customers.

Finally, Volkswagen Group enjoyed a rise in deliveries in Western Europe, delivering 1.98 million new cars to customers. This performance indicated 7.0 percent growth in a market that suffered a sales decline of 4.4 percent over the year.

Regarding the company’s 2011 success, Volkswagen Group Board Member for Sales Christian Klingler said, “All Group brands reported further gains under difficult conditions on volatile markets. This outstanding result is clearly a team achievement. However, a very challenging year lies ahead. The risks on European markets in particular will multiply in 2012. In spite of this, The Volkswagen Group is well placed and well prepared to master the upcoming challenges and play a leading role on world markets.”