Shortly after the first post-war Christmas in 1945 the first Volkswagen Type 1 – which, as the Beetle, sold more than 21 million cars – rolled off the production line in Wolfsburg.
Toyota Motor outsold sold Volkswagen in November as sales at the Volkswagen brand dropped, the result of the diesel emissions scandal. On Christmas, Toyota said it sold 9.21 million vehicles during January through November in 2015. The VW Group posted sales of 9.1 million during the same time. Given the ongoing ethical, legal and image problems at VW, it’s a good bet the Toyota will once again be the world’s largest automaker when the books close on 2015. VW brand sales have been dropping each month since October after it was revealed the company had cheated and lied about the emissions of its “clean diesel engines. Audi and Porsche are also implicated in the scandal.
The Volkswagen Group with headquarters in Wolfsburg remains one of the world’s leading vehicle manufacturer and the largest automaker in Europe. The Group comprises twelve brands from seven European countries: Volkswagen Passenger Cars, Audi, SEAT, ŠKODA, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, Porsche, Ducati, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, Scania and MAN.
During 2014, the Group increased the number of vehicles delivered to customers to 10.137 million (2013: 9.731 million). In Western Europe, more than one in four new cars is made by the Volkswagen Group. Group sales revenue in 2014 totaled €202 billion (2013: €197 billion), while profit after tax amounted to €11.1 billion (2013: €9.1 billion).
