Europe's biggest carmaker, Volkswagen, said on Nov. 13 that October deliveries gained 11.1% to 557,300 vehicles from the same month a year earlier amid growth in its main markets, China and Germany.
The group's nine brands also sold a total of 5.32 million vehicles in the 10-month period from January to end October, surpassing the total 2008 figure of 5.29 million.
At the same time, the global auto market declined by around 10%.
"Overall developments are better than expected thanks to our market leadership in Germany, the growth markets of China and Brazil and to our young and environmentally friendly product range," said sales director Detlef Wittig.
He added however that "global passenger car markets have not made a sustained recovery yet, so we are anticipating a particularly difficult and challenging year in 2010."
A breakdown of the results showed that Chinese sales soared by 64.3% to 128,900 vehicles, while the group's home market in Germany grew by 26% to 116,100 units.
Brazil turned in growth of 9.5% to 59,300 vehicles, and the group said global demand for its Audi A5 and Q5 models, along with VW's own Jetta and Passat CC cars "was particularly high."
Volkswagen's less expensive models have benefitted strongly from Germany's auto-scrapping bonus, but that offer expired in September and analysts warn that 2010 could be gloomy for the domestic market.
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2009
