Volkswagen and Audi Both Set Sales Increases for May

VolkswagenVolkswagenGermany, 1938 > present98 models
9654 photos
31 videos
and AudiAudiGermany, 1909 > present83 models
8213 photos
27 videos
both set sales increases worldwide for May. Volkswagen was up 9.3% worldwide to 476,900 cars compared to last May. Audi did even better with sales up 13.7% worldwide in May to 128,900 cars. 

For May, Volkswagen saw sales increases of 14.8% in Asia, 24.4% in North America, 0.2% in South America and down 5.8% in Europe. Sales in only China were up 14.7%, and sales in only the United States were up 35.7%. Volkswagen also remains strong in Germany where sales were up 2.9%. 

The other bright point is that while Western Europe is weakening, Eastern Europe is growing stronger. Eastern and Central Europe in general was up 50.8%, and just Russia was up 90.1% to 65,300 cars. 

Volkswagen has sold 2.29 million vehicles so far this year that is a 9.4% increase over this time last year. 

“The Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand achieved a very respectable performance on markets worldwide in May. However, the situation on markets in Western Europe remains tense," said Christian Klingler, sales and marketing manager for Volkswagen Group

Audi has also been experiencing strong growth. Sales in North America were up 10.3%, Europe up 3.8% and Asia up 38.7%. Just China was up 44.2%, and just the United States was up 10%. Audi does not break out sales for all of South America, but sales in Brazil were down 56% to 203 cars. 

Audi sales are up 12.1% for the year-to-date to 600,200 cars. It is projecting 1.4 million cars sold by the end of the year. 

“Our growth in Europe continues to clearly buck the market trend, with especially stable development in Germany and the United Kingdom. We plan to set new sales records in 2012 in both markets," said Peter Schwarzenbauer, marketing and sales manager for Audi.