Volkswagen Continues Growth In July

August 9, 2018 by Volkswagen

Vehicle deliveries up 8.4 percent to 505,900 vehicles

• Global upward trend continues with more than 30 percent growth in Germany
• Top total of 3.6 million vehicles delivered from January to July
• Jürgen Stackmann, Volkswagen Brand Board Member for Sales: 'The next few months will be significantly more challenging.'

The Volkswagen brand continues on its growth path: with 505,900 vehicles delivered in July, the brand reported a rise of 8.4 percent compared with the same month of the previous year. All in all, the brand handed 3,624,600 cars over to customers from January to July, representing an increase of 6.5 percent compared with the corresponding period of the previous year. Jürgen Stackmann, Volkswagen Brand Board Member for Sales: 'This was the best July in the history of the Volkswagen brand. We are continuing our upward trend and are significantly ahead of the prior-year figure after seven months. With cumulative deliveries of 3.6 million vehicles, we have outperformed the Volkswagen brand's previous record for this period. However, the next few months will be more challenging. The changeover to the WLTP test procedure will probably lead to delays in deliveries affecting certain model lines in Europe.'

Deliveries in the region's markets in July developed as follows:

In Europe, 162,500 vehicles were handed over to customers, 30.2 percent more than in July 2017. This development was mainly driven by major Western European markets such as Italy (+24.4 %), Spain (+51.7 %) and the Netherlands (+164.2 %). Compared with the previous year, deliveries in Western Europe grew by 30.0 percent. This situation is mainly due to the fact that many markets implemented successful programs for the sale of vehicles type-tested in accordance with NEDC before the entry into force of the WLTP test procedure on September 1.

53,500 vehicles were handed over to customers in the home market of Germany, an increase of 32.9 percent over the previous year. This good result is due to the large number of orders in hand, partly as a result of the environmental incentive which expired at the end of June. In addition, successful programs for the sale of vehicles type-approved to NEDC were also implemented in Germany. For the newly introduced models Tiguan Allspace and T-Roc, July was the most successful month since their market launch.

26,400 vehicles were handed over to customers in Central and Eastern Europe, a rise of 31.3 percent compared with the previous year. In Russia, deliveries were 19.0 percent higher than the previous year, at 8,600 vehicles, as a result of high demand for the Polo notchback.

With 50,300 vehicles handed over to customers, deliveries in North America were at about the same level as in July 2017. In the USA, the SUV offensive again boosted deliveries by 12.7 percent to 30,500 vehicles. In Mexico, a fall of 25.7 percent compared with the previous year was recorded as a result of the tense situation on the overall market.

41,900 vehicles were handed over to customers in South America, an increase of 18.1 percent compared with the same month last year. 30,000 vehicles were delivered to customers in Brazil, the region's largest market, corresponding to an increase of 38.3 percent compared with July 2017. This strong growth was driven by the product offensive in Brazil. In Japan, a rise of 17.9 percent was reported. The reason was high demand for the Polo and the local Golf special model.

In China, deliveries almost reached the figure for July 2017. The Volkswagen brand handed a total of 223,500 vehicles over to customers. The reason for the fall in China was a reduction in customs duties on imported vehicles. Following this change, customers have taken more time over their purchase decisions.

Overview of deliveries for the Volkswagen brand in July:

Deliveries to customers by markets

July

2017

July

2018

Change (%)

Jan.-July 2017

Jan.-July 2018

Change (%)

Europe

124,900