Volkswagen Group cracks 10 million annual sales

In 2014, for the first time, the Volkswagen Group has achieved 10 million sales in a calendar year.

Across the group of companies a 4.2% increase in sales for the year resulted in 10.14 million vehicles being sold. Just 10 years ago the Group was shifting around 5 million units per year.

Volkswagen passenger vehicles make up the bulk of the sales, with the brand passing six million annual sales for the first time last year.

Audi sales across the globe increased by more than 10% and numbered 1.74 million.

Porsche managed 189,000 sales, up by a very healthy 17%, thanks in part to the launch of the Macan SUV.

Skoda reached a new high sales mark, passing 1 million sales for the first time. An increase of almost 13% on the previous year’s sales.

All this means that the Group’s Strategy 2018 is well underway to being achieved.

First goal of Strategy 2018 achieved: Volkswagen Group delivers over ten million vehicles for first time

• 10.14 million units delivered from January to December 2014 / +4.2 per cent
• CEO Prof. Dr. Martin Winterkorn: “Vigorous implementation of strategy”
• Group Board Member for Sales Christian Klingler: “Vehicle deliveries doubled in ten years”

Wolfsburg/Detroit, January 12 2015 – The Volkswagen Group achieved the first goal of its Strategy 2018 last year: “In 2014, our Group delivered over ten million vehicles in total to customers, ranging from the e-up!* city car to heavy commercial vehicles. That is impressive confirmation we are vigorously implementing our Strategy 2018 despite challenging market conditions. We are also making good progress with our other main goals – return on sales, customer satisfaction and top employer”, the Chairman of the Board of Management of Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft, Prof. Dr. Martin Winterkorn, said in Detroit on Sunday. In total, 10.14 (prior year: 9.73; +4.2 per cent) million vehicles were handed over to customers worldwide from January to December 2014.

Developments in the month of December were also positive, with deliveries running at 881,000 (December 2013: 857,600; +2.7 per cent) units. Group Board member for Sales Christian Klingler commented: “Our Group has doubled vehicle deliveries in the last ten years. That is an outstanding performance and an impressive result, and all Group brands have played their part in achieving this despite at times very difficult market conditions.”

Including the figures for heavy commercial vehicles, Group brands delivered a total of 3.95 (3.75; +5.1 per cent) million vehicles to customers on the overall European market in 2014. 2.03 (1.90; +7.2 per cent) million customers took possession of a new vehicle in Western Europe (excluding Germany). 1.24 (1.19; +4.5 per cent) million units were delivered in the home market of Germany. The Group handed over 670,900 (668,300; +0.4 per cent) vehicles to customers in Central and Eastern Europe in the period to December, of which 275,800 (316,000; -12.7 per cent) were delivered in Russia.

The company delivered 891,900 (890,600; +0.2 per cent) vehicles in the North America region from January to December, of which 599,700 (611,800; -2.0 per cent) were handed over to customers in the United States. The Volkswagen Group delivered 795,700 (992,300; -19.8 per cent) vehicles in the South America region during the same period, of which 629,800 (755,200; -16.6 per cent) were handed over to customers in Brazil.

The Group continued to record encouraging figures in the Asia-Pacific region, where annual deliveries topped the four-million mark for the first time. The Group handed over 4.06 (3.65; +11.3 per cent) million vehicles there from January to December, of which 3.68 (3.27; +12.4 per cent) million were delivered to customers in China (incl. Hong Kong), the Group’s largest single market.

Outline of developments at Group brands

The Volkswagen Passenger Vehicles brand delivered 6.12 million vehicles to customers worldwide from January to December 2014. This means the brand has doubled deliveries since 2004, and topped the six-million mark for the first time.

Audi delivered 1.74 (1.58) million vehicles to customers worldwide in 2014, a substantial increase of 10.5 per cent. The premium brand from Ingolstadt grew deliveries year-on-year in almost all regions.

The sports car manufacturer Porsche delivered a total of 189,800 (162,100; +17.1 per cent) vehicles in the period to December. Demand for models from the Stuttgart-based carmaker was particularly high in Western Europe, Asia-Pacific and North America.

The Å KODA brand delivered over one million units worldwide for the first time in the period from January to December 2014, handing over 1.04 (0.92) million vehicles to customers, a year-on-year increase of 12.7 per cent.

SEAT delivered 390,500 (355,000) vehicles worldwide in the period to December 2014, a year-on-year rise of 10.0 per cent.

The Group’s three commercial vehicles brands, MAN, Scania and Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, delivered 646,500 (683,200; -5.4 per cent) heavy and light commercial vehicles worldwide in 2014 against the backdrop of weaker developments in Europe, Russia and South America. MAN accounted for 120,100 (140,300; -14.4 per cent) of these vehicles. The Swedish brand Scania handed over 79,800 (80,500; -0.8 per cent) heavy commercial vehicles and buses to customers in 2014. Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles delivered 446,600 (462,400; -3.4 per cent) units in the period to December.

*e-up! power consumption in kWh/100km: 11.7 (combined); CO2 emission in g/km: 0 (combined); efficiency class: A+

Note: All Group figures are expected figures and include heavy commercial vehicles from the MAN and Scania brands.