MOTORING NEWS - German car manufacturer Volkswagen AG has reported that it sold 10,74-million cars in 2017 and this was an improvement of 4,3% from the previous year.
With Toyota estimated to have sold 10,35-million vehicles last year, the German giant is expected to overtake the Japanese firm as the biggest car maker in 2017 once the final numbers are revealed.
Volkswagen also led the pack in 2016 when it sold 10,3-million cars. One of its best months was December last year when sales, which include Seat, Skoda, Audi and Porsche, grew by 8,5%.
"We are grateful to our customers for their trust," said Chief Executive Officer of Volkswagen, Matthias Mueller.
"We will continue to do everything we can in 2018 to meet and exceed the expectations of our customers all over the world."
Most of the sales by Volkswagen AG last year were for its flagship Volkswagen brand, which recorded total car sales of 6,2-million units. Volkswagen AG's number two brand was Audi which saw sales of 1,9-million units, followed by Skoda which recorded sales of 1,2-million units. In fourth position was Seat of which 468,000 units were sold.
The number of Porsche cars sold was 246 000. The strong sales by Volkswagen are a signal that the German company has managed to put the "Dieselgate" scandal behind it.
The scandal that first came to light in September 2015, resulted in reparations, penalties and fines.
Mueller is credited with steering the company away from its focus on production of diesel cars and engineering an investment of R480-billion in autonomous and clean energy cars since his appointment.
Volkswagen recorded the fastest growth in South America, where sales rose by 23,7% and eastern and central Europe where sales increased by 13,2%.
In the Asia-Pacific regions, sales of Volkswagen went up by 4,3%. Volkswagen AG also saw its sales in China increase by 17,8% last month to reach a figure of 460 100 cars.
Sales of Volkswagen cars in the United States fell by 5,2%. There was also a fall in sales in Europe, including in its home market of Germany where deliveries fell by 0,4%.
ARTICLE: www.technewsobserver.com
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