Volkswagen shares up 1.5% as global sales advance

Volkswagen posted its biggest monthly sales gain this year as a surge in China offset a drop in Brazil and eroding market share in Europe in a sign the car maker is overcoming the emissions-cheating scandal.

Volkswagen’s worldwide sales jumped 7.1% in September to 947,600 vehicles, buoyed by strong demand for its Skoda brand, it said.

The namesake VW marque edged into positive territory for the first time this year, bolstered by a surge in deliveries in China last month.

Volkswagen shares, which have tumbled 26% since the cheating became public, rose 1.5% in Frankfurt trading, valuing the company at €63.8bn.

The manufacturer has been battling back from the crisis after admitting to cheating on emissions tests in September 2015 and tarnishing its image.

In Europe, where about 8.5 million tainted cars were sold, Volkswagen has been losing ground to competitors, as rivals including Daimler and Fiat Chrysler benefit from the loss of confidence.

Volkswagen accounted for 22.9% of European sales in September, down from 23.3% a year earlier, the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association, or ACEA, said yesterday.

Still, those woes were offset by sales in China, where the diesel scandal is a non-issue because the technology doesn’t play a role for consumers.

The group’s sales in the market, which accounts for more than one-third of global sales, jumped 20% to 382,300 vehicles.

That more than offset a 59% plunge in Brazilian deliveries to 13,200. In the UK, which exceeded Germany as the biggest European market in September due to a semiannual license plate change, registrations rose 1.6%.