Volkswagen Passenger Cars Brand

The brand handed over 413,700 vehicles last month, thus matching deliveries for the same month of the previous year in a difficult environment. A total of 920,700 (January-February 2014: 935,200; -1.6 percent) vehicles were therefore delivered to customers in the first two months of the year. "The situation on world markets remains tense", Christian Klingler, Board Member for Sales and Marketing for the Volkswagen Group and the Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand, commented. "Thanks to a convincing model range, the Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand was able to maintain deliveries at the high level of the prior year. In particular the new Passat as well as the Golf and Golf SV models continue to meet with a very positive response from our customers", Klingler continued.

Volkswagen Passenger Cars handed over 246,800 (245,300; +0.6 percent) vehicles to customers on the overall European market in the period to February.

In Western Europe (excluding Germany), deliveries improved by 3.8 percent to 129,600 (124,800) units. In Germany, deliveries by Volkswagen Passenger Cars in the first two months of the year rose to 85,900 (80,600; +6.7 percent). In Central and Eastern Europe, 31,300 (39,900; -21.5 percent) customers took possession of a new Volkswagen. Deliveries in Russia decreased to 12,000 (20,000; -40.1 percent) units as a result of the ongoing difficult market situation.

In the Asia-Pacific region the brand recorded a slight 0.5 percent rise in deliveries from January to February, handing over 475,200 (472,600) vehicles to customers, of which 441,600 (437,700; +0.9 percent) were delivered in China (incl. Hong Kong).

The Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand grew deliveries in the North America region by 3.6 percent to 85,700 (82,700) units, of which 49,200 (50,600; -2.8 percent) were handed over in the United States. In the South America region the company delivered 83,900 (103,400; -18.8 percent) vehicles in the period to February, of which 64,000 (79,900; -20.0 percent) were handed over in Brazil.

Here in Ireland, Volkswagen is the most popular brand in Ireland, with 5,580 vehicles delivered in the first two months of 2015, an increase of 30.07 percent on the same period in 2014. The Volkswagen Golf remains the top-selling model too, with 2,374 until reaching customers in the first two months of the year, a 35.42 percent increase on the same period in 2014.

“Delays in the arrival of the new Passat gave us a slower than expected start to January, but as these cars have started to come through we are seeing our deliveries return to the levels we had targeted,” said Paul Burke, Operations Director for Volkswagen Passenger cars. “With the arrival of more stock, along with the continued strong momentum for the Golf range, we are confident of a strong second-half to 2015.”