7,85 εκατ. πωλήσεις για το VW Group μέχρι τον Οκτώβριο

The Volkswagen Group delivered 7.85 (January-October 2012: 7.50; +4.7 percent)* million vehicles from January to October. The company handed over 818,900 (October 2012: 788,800; +3.8 percent)* vehicles to customers in October. “The Volkswagen Group started the fourth quarter with a solid rise in deliveries. That confirms our forecast for record deliveries of 9.5 million vehicles for the full year”, Group Board Member for Sales Christian Klingler said in Wolfsburg on Friday. He added that developments on markets worldwide remained mixed and characterized by economic uncertainty, particularly in Western Europe. Klinger continued: “Nevertheless, we are seeing the first signs that the markets in France and Spain as well as Italy are stabilizing. The delivery situation in China remains very encouraging, with some Group brands recording significant increases there.”

The Group brands delivered a total of 3.05 (3.10; -1.8 percent) million vehicles to customers on the overall European market from January to October, of which 1.56 (1.57; -1.1 percent) million units were handed over in Western Europe (excluding Germany). In the home market of Germany, 963,600 (994,500; -3.1 percent) customers took possession of a new vehicle. In the Central and Eastern Europe region, Europe’s largest automaker delivered 526,200 (534,600; -1.6 percent) units. 250,700 (262,200; -4.4 percent) vehicles were delivered to customers in Russia during the same period.

In the North America region, deliveries from January to October grew by 7.8 percent to 734,200 (681,200) vehicles, of which 508,300 (481,100; +5.7 percent) were delivered in the United States. The Volkswagen Group handed over 758,000 (841,500; -9.9 percent) vehicles to customers in the South America region during the same period, of which 561,900 (644,000; -12.7 percent) were delivered in Brazil.

Delivery figures for the Asia-Pacific region remained very encouraging. 2.95 (2.56; +15.6 percent) million vehicles were handed over to customer there in the period to October, of which 2.65 (2.26; +17.2 percent) million were delivered in China, the region’s largest single market. In contrast, deliveries in India declined to 79,200 (94,900; -16.6 percent) units.

Outline of developments at Group brands

The Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand delivered 4.88 (4.72; +3.4 percent) million vehicles to customers worldwide from January to October. The brand developed well in the Asia-Pacific region, handing over 2.20 (1.89; +16.2 percent) million units to customers there. Volkswagen Passenger Cars delivered 513,100 (508,500; +0.9 percent) vehicles in North America and 1.37 (1.44; -5.3 percent) million vehicles on the overall European market where conditions remained difficult.

Audi delivered 1.31 (1.22; +7.5 percent) million vehicles worldwide in the period to October. The premium brand from Ingolstadt developed well in the Asia-Pacific region where 470,700 (393,500; +19.6 percent) models were handed over to customers. Audi delivered 154,200 (136,600) vehicles in the North America region during the same period, an increase of 12.9 percent.

The sports car manufacturer Porsche, which became a Volkswagen Group brand on August 1, 2012, delivered a total of 133,100 vehicles in the first ten months. Demand for vehicles built by the Stuttgart-based carmaker was particularly high in the Asia-Pacific region, where 40,300 units were delivered, and in the North America region, where 38,800 vehicles were handed over to customers.

ŠKODA delivered a total of 768,700 (795,100; -3.3 percent) vehicles from January to October. The Czech automaker recorded stable development in Western Europe (excluding Germany), where it delivered 191,900 (191,700; +0.1 percent) units. The company handed over 204,400 (214,900; -4.9 percent) vehicles to customers in Central and Eastern Europe.

SEAT delivered 295,100 (265,200; +11.3 percent) vehicles worldwide from January to October, thus continuing its upward trend. The Spanish brand developed particularly well in Germany, where deliveries rose by 25.4 percent to 64,100 (51,200) units, and in the UK, where the company handed over 38,300 (33,700; +13.8 percent) vehicles to customers.

Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles delivered 454,800 (455,400; -0.1 percent) vehicles from January to October, of which 133,200 (134,000; -0.6 percent) units were handed over to customers in Western Europe (excluding Germany). In contrast, deliveries grew by 9.8 percent in the South America region, where Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles handed over 133,200 (121,300) vehicles to customers.

*) including deliveries by the Porsche brand from August 1, 2012; excluding MAN and Scania

Shanghai-Volkswagen produces 10 millionth vehicle in China

• Volkswagen production in China started 30 years ago

Volkswagen today celebrated the production of the 10 millionth vehicle by Shanghai-Volkswagen, a joint venture of Volkswagen and SAIC Motor Corporation Ltd. When the milestone vehicle, a Volkswagen Tiguan, rolled off the production line, the event was witnessed by Prof. Dr. Jochem Heizmann, Member of the Board of Management of Volkswagen AG and President and CEO of Volkswagen Group China, together with government representatives and managers from Shanghai-Volkswagen and SAIC.

“This milestone is a sign of the tremendous enthusiasm with which millions of customers in China have welcomed vehicles and services from the Volkswagen Group over the course of our successful partnership,” said Prof. Dr. Heizmann in Shanghai. “Volkswagen and SAIC Motor established Shanghai-Volkswagen more than 30 years ago and have performed genuinely pioneering work in the Chinese automobile industry.”

Volkswagen produced its first vehicle in Shanghai, a Volkswagen Santana, in April 1983. With more than 4,2 million units produced, the Santana is a prominent feature on the roads of China to this day. You could say that Volkswagen provided China with wheels. At the same time, the Group and its joint ventures have become the development motor of the Chinese automobile industry – through extensive investments in the localization of products and production as well as through the training of skilled employees. Shanghai-Volkswagen already established its own development department in 1990 and commissioned a test facility in 1997 and its own design centre in 2003. In 2006, the joint venture started to produce models of the ŠKODA brand.

Nowadays, the Volkswagen Group and its joint ventures – Shanghai-Volkswagen and FAW-Volkswagen – have more than 75,000 employees in China. Shanghai-Volkswagen has also introduced the innovative dual vocational training model, which combines theoretical and practical training for new employees. For seven years in succession, Shanghai-Volkswagen was named “Top employer in China”.

The joint venture Shanghai-Volkswagen currently operates vehicle plants in Anting, Nanjing, Ningbo and Yizheng, Jiangsu province. In addition, production at the plant in Urumqi, Xinjiang region, commenced a few month ago. A further plant in Changsha, south central China, is scheduled for completion in 2015.

China is now the largest sales market of the Volkswagen Group. In 2012, the Group, together with its joint ventures Shanghai-Volkswagen and FAW-Volkswagen, delivered 2.81 million vehicles to customers in China. In the first nine months of this year, sales grew by 18 percent compared with the corresponding period of the previous year, reaching about 2.36 million vehicles. As of September 2013, Volkswagen Group China has a market share of 20.9 percent in the Greater China region (including Hong Kong).