September was good month for the Volkswagen brand for a couple of reasons. Firstly, deliveries rose nearly 7% in September. The rise was so pronounced that secondly, for the first time this year, sales to date in 2016 exceed sales in 2015.
Although sales are only 0.6% better in 2016 than they were in up this point in 2015, the improvement is an important step for Volkswagen in recovering from the diesel emissions scandal that broke more than a year ago.
That said, it doesn’t yet mark a full recovery. News of the scandal didn’t rock Volkswagen’s reputation in China like it did in the United States. All year, Chinese sales figures have buoyed the brand’s global sales figures and have helped offset declines in both the US and South America.
As ever, sales in those market continued to slide in September. In the USA, sales were nearly 8% lower this September as Volkswagen still faces the challenge of regaining American trust and breaking into the market in a big way.
In South America, meanwhile, due to continued economic difficulties in Brazil, sales slid nearly 50%.
Fortunately for VW, those markets are small as compared to the Asia-Pacific market. Between January and September, Volkswagen sold more than 2 million vehicles in China alone. That accounts for nearly half of all deliveries this year.
China wasn’t the only growing market, though. Central and Eastern Europe also saw deliveries increase by more than 10% in September and more than 7% for the year so far.
Sales for the Volkswagen Group, meanwhile, rose 7.6% in September. As ever, that increase was driven by sales growth at Audi (+1.7), Skoda (+14.4%), Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles (+19.3%), and Porsche (+7.2%). Unusually, though, Volkswagen (+6.7%) and SEAT (+8.2%) both contributed to the sales growth this month.
As a result, deliveries for the Volkswagen Group are also up 2.4%. Although Volkswagen won’t be popping the Champagne just yet, a return to sales growth for the brand and the Group are certainly good signs.
“The increased deliveries make us optimistic we will be able to master the upcoming challenges,” says Fred Kappler, Head of Group Sales.
The post Volkswagen Year-to-Date Sales Grow for First Time in 2016 appeared first on VWVortex.
from VWVortex http://ift.tt/2e7fDSJ
via IFTTT
Comments
Post a Comment