Volkswagen Group Up 14.1 Percent In The First Six Months

Bertel Schmitt
by Bertel Schmitt

As we just noticed, the Volkswagen Group gained 5.7 percent in Europe in the first six months of 2011. But that’s only a small part of the story. Globally, the Volkswagen Group delivered more vehicles in the first six months of 2011 than ever. A total of 4.09 million units changed hands, up 14.1 percent from the 3.58 million delivered in the same period of 2010. This according to a communique sent out by Volkswagen today. For you, dear TTAC reader, this is old news however. A few days ago, we told you that we “expect group sales to come in at somewhere around 14 percent and change for the half year.” (In more than 30 years working for the company, some of the clairvoyance possessed by VW’s upper management had rubbed off …)

Volkswagen Jan-Jun 2011Jan-Jun ’11Jan-Jun ’10ChangeVolkswagen Passenger Cars2,530,0002,260,00011.8%Audi653,000554,90017.7%Škoda454,700378,70020.1%SEAT186,400181,8002.5%Volkswagen Commercial260,300201,90029.0%Total4,090,0003,580,00014.1%

Let’s look at the major brands of Wolfsburg’s universe first. As you can see, the Bugattis, Bentleys and Lamborghinis are rarely mentioned when it comes to group results. Their numbers are smaller than the rounding errors. All major brands show healthy gains, even SEAT stabilized.

And where do these cars get sold? As an American, you may be astonished by Volkswagen’s size. No wonder: More than three quarters of their cars get sold in Europe and Asia. And don’t forget: Europe as a whole is a big market, bigger than the U.S.A. In the first six months of 2011, a total of 6.3 million units were sold in the U.S. Despite its problems, Europe consumed 7.1 million units in the same time.

Volkswagen MarketsJan-Jun ’11Jan-Jun ’10ChangeNorth America319,100263,20021.2%U.S.A.211,100175,30020.4%South America455,200410,60010.9%Asia / Pacific1,260,0001,050,00019.5%China1,110,000950,00016.4%India55,10017,400217.2%Europe1,900,0001,740,0009.3%Others155,700116,20034.0%Total4,090,0003,580,00014.2%

Once we have the GM and Toyota numbers for the half year, I’ll make a new prediction on the final ranking by the end of the year. I have the feeling it will not be much different t han the prediction made last June: #1 GM, #2 Volkswagen, #3 Toyota

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.

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  • Alluster Alluster on Jul 15, 2011

    VW has become a force to reckon with. GM and VW are going to be wrestling it out for the next few years for the top spot while Toyota will be stuck in the third. Toyota had a good run but they will not be seeing the top spot ever again. I doubt they care though. VW's biggest worry should be the Euro Zone imploding. As much as I like GM, I want VW and Ford to make a big push into the Japanese Market. The Japanese car market while stagnant is still one of the largest in the world. GM stands no chance unless they build a plant there and sell Sonic's or Spark's. Ford and VW have a better chance.

    • See 2 previous
    • Charly Charly on Jul 15, 2011

      @Sinistermisterman VW is as big in Japan as Toyota is in Europe and they have Suzuki for the Kei cars. There is also the problem that Kei cars are a Japan only product which means you have to have a big market share in Japan to make it worthwhile. VW doesn't have it so they can't make money on it. There is also the problem of market shaping. What do you think will happen if VW exported a Kei car to Japan. A) nothing. B) Kei car rules are changed in such a way that VW must invest to much to keep selling Kei cars.

  • Mike978 Mike978 on Jul 15, 2011

    Bertel - thanks for the data. You comment "As an American, you may be astonished by Volkswagen’s size. No wonder: More than three quarters of their cars get sold in Europe and Asia. And don’t forget: Europe as a whole is a big market, bigger than the U.S.A." is so true. That is why some discussions on here about the relative merits of GM, Ford, Toyota, VW etc and who is doing well or badly in the US are not as important as they used to be. Some like to criticize VW for some of their cars, fair comments typically but in the scheme of things the US is an important but relatively small market and that is before the expected massive growth in India and the continued Chinese growth.

    • Charly Charly on Jul 15, 2011

      American market is still big but the problem is more that you can't sell cars design for the American market in other markets (except the oil producers). Cars designed for the European market can be sold in all other markets (with some cheapening) as can their old models

  • Dukeisduke Is the Volvo EX30 even on sale yet? It was pulled from the NACTOY awards because they were having software problems with the vehicle.
  • Wjtinfwb If you've only got 5k to spend on transportation, I cannot imagine a worse way to spend it than on a GM orphan from Sweden that's 15 years old with 150k on the clock and limited plus expensive parts availability and dwindling techs who'd even want to work on it. Go find a similar vintage Camry or Accord with 150k miles or even a Ford or a Chevy, whatever. Hell, even an old Jaguar is less of a crapshoot than a Saab. At least you can still get parts.
  • Kwik_Shift Brands that were considered from China include BYD, Dayun, Great Wall Motors, Maxus, Nio, Omoda/Chery, Seres, XPeng, and Zeekr. KG Mobility from South Korea also made the list of candidates.That's a lot of car companies from there ready to head here.
  • Analoggrotto Clean sweep and unanimous victory for the world affluence engine of 22nd century : Hyundai/Kia/Genesis. Toyota and Lexus, for 120 years of history have not been able to capture the zenith superlative status of Hyundai Motor Corporation the most awarded, decorated and revered automotive corporation in the history of historical. Featuring best ever, first ever and greatest ever e-ATPs the Hyundai Genesis Kia lineup is posed to become the envy of every country club, ivy league college and fortune 500 corporation in the world. I've been taking a roadtrip in my loaner Elantra N, visiting colleges from east to west, elite universities of higher learning to inspect their parking lots. WHat did I find? Leagues of Genesis models, outnumbering Lexus 3 to 1. When I interviewed faculty and staff at these places of greater learning, their response was unanimous : they chose HMC for the ATPs.
  • Mikey 2019 Chevy Impala Premier FWD with 20 inch factory Bridgestones. I'm looking at replacing tires at the 65,000 KLM's (40,000 miles ) mark ....It doesn't thrill me .. I'm pricing Michelin Cross Climate 2 tires ouch !! ..Up here in Canuckastan ....Big $$$$$
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