Volkswagen group sales rise to record level on Audi demand

Volkswagen, Europe’s largest carmaker, sold 5.8% more vehicles in the first quarter, marking a delivery record for the period as the Audi luxury brand attracted buyers.

Sales rose to 2.4m vehicles from 2.27m a year ago, Volkswagen said yesterday in a statement. Deliveries in March climbed 7.6% to 929,500 cars.

“All in all, we are very satisfied with the way deliveries developed in the first three months,” Christian Klingler, VW’s sales chief, said. “There are signs of a return to modest growth on the markets in western Europe” after a six-year slump.

Volkswagen intends to sell over 10m vehicles in 2014 to reach a target four years earlier than planned.

The German automaker has applied to set up its first car plant in Thailand, sources said last week.

Expansion in fast-growing Asian markets and recovering demand in Europe are key to the company’s effort to overtake Toyota as the global sales leader by 2018.

“Europe is decisive; if growth there stabilises, then it’s very good for VW,” said Daniel Schwarz, an analyst at Commerzbank AG in Frankfurt. “It’s a good sign that VW’s sales gains accelerated in March.”

Audi deliveries rose 12& to 412,800 vehicles in the quarter, as the world’s second-largest luxury-car brand held off number three, Mercedes-Benz.

Sales at VW’s namesake car brand increased 3.9% to 1.48m vehicles in the period, as deliveries in Europe rose 6.6% and demand in the Asia-Pacific region jumped 13%.

— Bloomberg