Volkswagen are still down, in march and Q1, but the gap is narrowing, as people head back to the brand.

• Almost 544,000 vehicles delivered in March
• Brand Board Member for Sales Jürgen Stackmann: “Best quarterly performance ever in China against backdrop of heterogeneous world markets.” 

The Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand handed over 1.46 million vehicles to customers in the first quarter of this year, nearly on a par with the prior-year level.  At just under 544,000 units, deliveries in March were only 2.7 percent down on the comparable prior-year period. 

“Mixed regional market developments are also reflected in our delivery figures. While Volkswagen Passenger Cars recorded the best delivery performance ever in China in the first quarter, the trend in South America in particular continues to decline,” said Jürgen Stackmann, Member of the Board of Management of the Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand responsible for Sales, Marketing and Aftersales. 

At 429,300 units, the company almost matched the prior-year level on the overall European market. Deliveries by the Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand in Western Europe were also stable, with 379,600 vehicles handed over to customers there. In contrast, deliveries by Volkswagen Passenger Cars in Central and Eastern Europe grew by 9.0 percent in March.

Just short of 48,000 units were delivered in the North America region in the third month of the year. 32,400 vehicles were handed over to customers in South America in March in a persistently difficult overall market situation.

In China, Volkswagen Passenger Cars delivered a total of 722,800 units in the first three months, a +6.5 percent increase on the comparable prior-year period and the best quarterly performance in the first three months since the company entered the Chinese market over 30 years ago.

Overview of deliveries by the Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand: 

Deliveries to customers by markets	March 2016	March 2015	Change (%)	Jan.- March2016	Jan.- March 2015	Change (%)
Europe	181,800	183,500	-1.0	429,300	430,300	-0.2
Western Europe	162,900	166,200	-2.0	379,600	381,700	-0.5
Germany	53,400	58,200	-8.2	138,700	144,100	-3.8
Central-and Eastern Europe	18,900	17,300	+9.0	49,700	48,600	+2.1
Russia	6,000	6,200	-2.3	15,900	18,100	-12.5
North America	48,000	50,700	-5.3	127,600	136,400	-6.5
USA	26,900	30,000	-10.4	69,300	79,200	-12.5
South America	32,400	44,700	-27.6	88,400	128,600	-31.3
Brazil	22,100	34,000	-35.2	59,600	98,000	-39.2
Asia-Pacific	265,200	260,200	+1.9	770,700	735,400	+4.8
China	245,400	236,800	+3.6	722,800	678,400	+6.5
Worldwide	543,700	558,700	-2.7	1,459,500	1,479,400	-1.3