Arrested Growth At Volkswagen
Growth at the world’s second largest automaker, the Volkswagen Group, took a breather in January. As indicated by its passenger vehicle division a few days ago, growth at the Volkswagen Group turned to a 1.3 percent trickle globally. This was caused by a calendar-induced decrease in China, combined with a soft European market.
Volkswagen January 2012 By Market
Jan ’12Jan ’11ChangeGlobal652,500644,2001.3%NA53,50041,90027.7%U.S.A.36,70026,30039.5%South Am78,10074,7004.6%Asia / Pacific233,500239,500-2.5%China208,200217,900-4.5%Europe259,900262,500-1.0%Germany74,10074,800-0.9%Volkswagen becomes increasingly dependent on the Asian market, which approaches European levels. Volkswagen’s premium brand Audi continues to do extremely well in China, where it did beat all calendar odds by delivering 27,200 units in January, up 22.6 percent from the 22,200 sold in January 2011.
Volkswagen January 2012 By Division
Jan ’12Jan ’11ChangeVW Passenger419,200418,6000.1%Audi96,10095,4000.7%ŠKODA75,40068,40010.2%SEAT21,70025,700-15.6%VW Commercial39,50035,70010.6%Other60040050.0%
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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Is VW including MAN and Scania in these numbers, maybe within VW Commercial?
Looks like SEAT is still having problems. Skoda though is flourishing (as seen by the Octavia entering the European top 10) - that makes sense since Skoda is essentially a VW in a more conservative wrapper AND a cheaper price. SEAT was meant to be the more sporty brand but those (i.e. Pontiac) seem to have a hard time delivering volume.
Despite the torrent of hype and obfuscation flowing out of Europe's governments, the economic disaster there is unfolding as it must: http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2012/02/about-that-increase-in-spanish-car.html The global orgy of spending is over... for cars, and everything else.