Volkswagen Grows Nearly 25 Percent Worldwide

Bertel Schmitt
by Bertel Schmitt

A day after Ford’s attempt to abscond with Volkswagen’s thunder, the boys in Wolfsburg delivered just the right antidote: Forget the single brand modern math. Stop moving countries around the map. Volkswagen Group’s worldwide deliveries grew 24.6 percent in the first quarter of 2010, says Europe’s (still) largest auto maker in a press release. The positive trend that lifted global automotive markets by 19.4 percent should not remain unnoted. Volkswagen is outperforming the market, and that means gaining market share.

And where does that first quarter growth come from? You guessed it:

The Volkswagen Group broke a new record in China, with first-quarter sales of 457,300 (+60.9 percent) units. (Must do better, VW. China grew 71.8 percent in the first quarter.)

The Asia-Pacific is up 58.9 percent.

South America up 13.4 percent.

USA, up 37.2 percent.

Europe, up 13.5 percent.

As far as brands go. Volkswagen Passenger Cars are up 27 percent with 1.11m sold in the first quarter.

Audi sold 264,100 (+25.9 percent) vehicles worldwide, the strongest first-quarter performance in the company’s history.

Škoda delivered 178,900 (+25.0 percent) units worldwide.

SEAT is back from the dead. They delivered 88,300 (+15.1 percent) vehicles to customers worldwide in the first quarter.

Bertel Schmitt
Bertel Schmitt

Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.

More by Bertel Schmitt

Comments
Join the conversation
15 of 16 comments
  • B1msus93 B1msus93 on Apr 16, 2010

    I don't know why you are so concerned about Ford's comment considering they did say "brand" and clearly specified the regions. What were they supposed to say? "WE ARE BEHIND VW AS ALWAYS, but still good!!!" ?

    • Bertel Schmitt Bertel Schmitt on Apr 16, 2010

      This is Thetruthaboutcars. My initials are BS. Our mission is to ferret out bullshit.

  • Zerofoo Zerofoo on Apr 16, 2010

    Ah yes, the power of new markets. I'm guessing people in China do not have much VW history to look back on....unlike North America. Then again, it may not matter. I owned TWO MK4 VW's with all the typical problems - and what do I own now? An MKV GTI. I guess I'm just a sucker for VW problems. Still, I like the cars, when they aren't broken. -ted

    • See 2 previous
    • Zerofoo Zerofoo on Apr 17, 2010

      Dr. Kenneth Noisewater: My VW dealer has noticeably improved since my MKIV ownership. At the time, the dealer was in the same building as a Mazda dealership. Now the dealer has a separate facility and the service has been great. Whatever VW did to dealers in NA, it worked. They have treated me well, and if my GTI continues to be reliable, I'll probably buy a Passat for my wife. For all their past problems, VWs still put a simile on my face when I drive them.

  • Bobhaynes88 Bobhaynes88 on Apr 16, 2010

    An interesting fact is that Volkswagen group have overtaken Ford and reached No. 1 in sales in the U.K.(1st Quarter of 2010) This ends 35 years of Ford being No.1 in the U.K.market, the only large market where they were No.1 I think Fords sales claims recently are partly a smokescreen to detract from this.

  • Wsn Wsn on Apr 16, 2010

    That number is the result of "creative accounting." They own 50% of the JV and yet they count 100% of the sales. If we add the reported sales of Chinese car makers such as SAIC to the global auto sales, then we will have many more cars sold than produced, because all JV sales will be counted twice. I mean, Ford owned 34% of Mazda for a long while, did Ford actually count the Mazda sales as Ford sales?

    • See 6 previous
    • Bertel Schmitt Bertel Schmitt on Apr 17, 2010

      Worldwide production statistics are kept by OICA, the International Organization of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers. To change the way those statistics are being kept, the members have to request it, with a majority. The members are automobile manufacturers. Nuff said.

Next