Volkswagen brand loses sales in first quarter, has the great VW finally peaked?

• 558,600 units delivered in month of March

The Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand delivered 1.48 (1.50; -1.3 per cent) million vehicles to customers in the first quarter of this year. 558,600 (563.600; -0.9 per cent) vehicles were delivered in the month of March. 

“The demanding conditions on markets in South America, above all Brazil, and on the Russian market again impacted the delivery performance of Volkswagen Passenger Cars, our core brand, in March. In contrast, the brand gained ground – in some cases quite significantly – in Western Europe, particularly in Spain, UK and Germany,” Christian Klingler, Board Member for Sales and Marketing for the Volkswagen Group and the Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand, commented in Wolfsburg on Tuesday.

Volkswagen Passenger Cars delivered 430,300 (422,400; +1.9 per cent) vehicles on the overall European market in the first quarter, of which 237,500 (225,100; +5.5 per cent) units were handed over in Western Europe (excluding Germany). 

Developments in the home market of Germany were also positive, with the brand delivering 144,100 (133,100; +8.3 per cent) new vehicles to customers there. 48,600 (64,100; -24.3 per cent) vehicles were handed over to customers in Central and Eastern Europe during the same period. The company delivered 18,100 (34,300; -47.2 per cent) units in Russia.

Volkswagen Passenger Cars delivered 735,400 (740,100; -0.6 per cent) vehicles to customers in the Asia-Pacific region in the period to March. 678,400 (682,700; -0.6 per cent) units were handed over in China (incl. Hong Kong). The brand delivered 136,400 (135,800; +0.4 per cent) units in the North America region, of which 79,200 (87,300; -9.3 per cent) new models were handed over to their owners in the United States. 

In the South America region, deliveries for the period to March declined to 128,600 (151,700; -15.2 per cent) units, of which 98,000 (119,600; -18.1 per cent) were handed over to customers in Brazil.