Volkswagen Group Up 14.1 Percent In The First Six Months
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 …)
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 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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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.
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.