General Motors, Toyota and Volkswagen are locked in a fight for global auto sales dominance.
The Volkswagen Group sold 7.85 million vehicles during January through October, an increase of +5% from the same time last year. During October, VW Group sold 818,900 vehicles a +3.8% increase from a year ago.
As a result, Volkswagen Group is now saying it will sell 9.5 million vehicles for the full year, which, if true, could unseat the existing Number One global sales leader Toyota Motor and Number Two General Motors, both of whom currently have more conservative sales forecasts. (Toyota Motor Posts Huge Gains in Income and Profits, Toyota World’s Largest Automaker trailed by GM, VW, and Chrysler Group Up, General Motors Down in Q3 Earnings)
“The Volkswagen Group started the fourth quarter with a solid rise in deliveries. That confirms our forecast for record deliveries,” Group Board Member for Sales Christian Klingler said in Wolfsburg on Friday. Klinger noted that developments in markets worldwide remained mixed and remain characterized by economic uncertainty, particularly in Western Europe. (European Car Sales Down. Lowest Level Ever for Year)
“Nevertheless, we are seeing the first signs that the markets in France and Spain as well as Italy are stabilizing. The delivery situation in China remains very encouraging, with some Group brands recording significant increases there.”
VW Group brands delivered a total of 3.05 million vehicles (3.1 million or -1.8% last year) to customers in the European market from January to October, of which 1.56 million (1.57 million; -1.1%) were sold in Western Europe, excluding Germany. In the home market of Germany, 963,600 (994,500, -3.1%) customers took possession of a new vehicle. In the Central and Eastern Europe region, Europe’s largest automaker by far delivered 526,200 (534,600 or -1.6%) units. In Russia 250,700 (262,200; -4.4% percent) vehicles were delivered to customers.
In the North America, deliveries from January to October grew by +7.8% to 734,200 (681,200) vehicles, of which 508,300 (481,100; +5.7%) were delivered in the United States. The Volkswagen Group sold 758,000 (841,500; -9.9%) vehicles to customers in the South America region during the same period, of which 561,900 (644,000 or +-12.7 percent) were delivered in Brazil.
Delivery figures for the Asia-Pacific region were 2.95 (2.56; +15.6 percent) million vehicles to October, of which 2.65 (2.26; +17.2 percent) million were delivered in China, the region’s largest single market. In contrast, deliveries in India declined to 79,200 (94,900; -16.6 percent) units.
