JANUARY SALES - VOLKSWAGEN - WORLDWIDE - VW's sales drop in January.

The Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand delivered 507,100 (January 2014: 521,600) vehicles to customers worldwide in the first month of this year, 2.8 per cent down on the same month of the prior year. “Deliveries by the Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand show we are facing a challenging year. 

Volkswagen was not immune to the uncertainties in some regions that have continued into the current year,” Christian  Klingler, Board Member for Sales and Marketing for the Volkswagen Group and the Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand, commented in Wolfsburg on Wednesday.

Developments in the global delivery situation in the first month of the year were mixed. 

The Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand handed over 124,900 (126,100; -1.0 per cent) vehicles to customers on the overall European market in January. Compared with the same month ofthe prior year, 66,100 (66,200; -0.1 per cent) units were delivered inWestern Europe (excluding Germany). The company handed over 42,900 (41,400; +3.4 per cent) vehicles in Germany. 

15,900 (18,500; -14.2 per cent) customers took possession of a new Volkswagen in Central and Eastern Europe in January, of which 6,200 (8,600; -28.3 per cent) units were delivered in Russia.

The brand delivered 282,000 (285,300; -1.2 per cent) vehicles in the Asia-Pacific region in January, of which 265,900 (267,800; -0.7 per cent) were handed over to customers in China (incl. Hong Kong). In contrast, deliveries in the North America region grew to 41,800 (39,700; +5.3 per cent). Volkswagen handed over 23,500 vehicles to customers in the United States, matching the figure for Januaryof last year. 

Volkswagen Passenger Cars delivered 45,200 (55,200; -18.1 per cent) units in the South America region, of which 34,200 (40,300; -15.2 per cent) were handed over to customers in Brazil.

JANUARY USA SALES - VOLKSWAGEN - Minor growth for the German brand, even with new metal.

• January sales total 23,504 units, representing a .04 percent increase over January 2014
• The all-new Golf delivered 2,040 units for the month, marking a 143% percent increase in sales for the model over the previous January
• The Golf GTI delivered 1,978 units, a 129% percent increase
• Jetta sedan delivered 8,320 units for the month

Volkswagen of America, Inc. (VWoA) today reported sales of 23,504 units delivered in January 2015.

The all-new Golf family continued to find success in both deliveries and accolades. In January, at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, the Golf and Golf GTI were named the North American Car of the Year. Golf family sales in January totaled 4,199 units, which includes 2,040 Golfs, 1,978 Golf GTIs and 181 e-Golf units. The Golf family continues to expand in 2015 with the addition of the much anticipated Golf R which goes on sale later this month. Five hundred pre-orders of the Golf R were filled in less than a 12 hour period last month.

“We are encouraged by the continued success of the Golf family, in fact it was one of the best months on record for Golf family sales. We look forward to the new additions of the much anticipated Golf R and Golf SportWagen later this quarter,” said Mark McNabb, chief operating officer, Volkswagen of America.

The Jetta, refreshed for the 2015 model year now with a suite of driver assistance features, continued to show its strength as a core model, with 8,320 units delivered.

The Touareg, refreshed for 2015, delivered 482 units, 257 of which were Clean Diesel TDI, amounting to 53 percent of sales of the model.

The Chattanooga-built Passat totaled 6,305 units delivered for the month. The Tiguan delivered 1,473 units.

January 2015 Sales

	Jan.15	Jan. 14	Yr/Yr% change	Jan.15  YTD	Jan.14 YTD	Yr/Yr% change
Golf	2,040	839	143.1%	2,040	839	143.1%
GTI	1,978	865	128.7%	1,978	865	128.7%
Golf R	-	8	-100.0%	-	8	-100.0%
e-Golf	181	-	-	181	-	-
Total Golf/GTI/e-Golf	4,199	1,712	145.3%	4,199	1,712	145.3%
Jetta Sedan	8,320	8,455	-1.6%	8,320	8,455	-1.6%
Jetta SportWagen	649	1,313	-50.6%	649	1,313	-50.6%
Total Jetta	8,969	9,768	-8.2%	8,969	9,768	-8.2%
Beetle Coupe	897	1,284	-30.1%	897	1,284	-30.1%
Beetle Convertible	492	750	-34.4%	492	750	-34.4%
Total Beetle	1,389	2,034	-14.8%	1,389	2,034	-14.8%
Eos	156	183	-14.8%	156	183	-14.8%
Passat	6,305	6,236	1.1%	6,305	6,236	1.1%
CC	531	881	-39.7%	531	881	-39.7%
Tiguan	1,473	1,777	-17.1%	1,473	1,777	-17.1%
Touareg	482	544	-11.4%	482	544	-11.4%
Routan	-	359	-100.0%	-	359	-100.0%
TOTAL	23,504	23,494	0.04%	23,504	23,494	0.04%

Volkswagen to offer a new Black Box for their cars to control and be in control your cars features.

Volkswagen plans to sell a little black box in Austria that records trips and tracks the location of a car to gauge European demand for connected-vehicle services.

The DiBox allows the user to access data on the car via a smartphone and is available for new as well as old VW and Audi models, Porsche Holding, Volkswagen’s Salzburg, Austria-based retail unit, said Wednesday in a statement.

The device, which connects to a vehicle’s electronics system, will cost 299 euros ($350), plus an annual subscription fee of 49 euros.

Volkswagen and BMW are among manufacturers developing wireless links for cars to add features that warn other vehicles of traffic jams and ultimately facilitate autonomous driving.

Regulators are also backing the spread of the technology, with the European Union planning to require that new cars be equipped with a system that automatically notifies emergency services after a serious crash.

By offering the DiBox also for older vehicles, “we’re democratizing the connected car,” Alain Favey, the head of Porsche Holding, said in a statement.

Volkswagen has a target of selling 6,000 DiBoxes this year and will eventually offer the device for the automaker’s other brands, said Richard Mieling, a Porsche Holding spokesman.

Together with Telekom Austria, which is supplying some of the technology, the carmaker plans to expand the service to other European markets.

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Volkswagen hits six million sales in one year for the first time.

• Group Board member for Sales Christian Klingler:  “Tenth record in succession. Deliveries doubled since 2004.”

“The Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand closed the tenth year in succession with a new delivery record, topping the six-million mark for the first time in a twelve-month period.  That means we have doubled deliveries by the brand since 2004,” Christian Klingler, Board Member for Sales and Marketing for the Volkswagen Group and the Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand, commented in Wolfsburg on Friday.  

The company handed over 6.12* million vehicles to customers from January to December 2014.  The brand delivered 529,500 (December 2013: 542,300; -2.4 percent) units in the month of December.  “We expect the existing challenging market conditions to continue in 2015. However, we believe we are very well prepared to face these challenges with new products such as the Passat or the internationally acclaimed, multi-award-winning Golf,” Klingler added.

The Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand delivered 1.68 (1.64; +2.8 percent) million vehicles on the overall European market in 2014, of which 858,300 (811,800; +5.7 percent) were handed over to customers in Western Europe (excluding Germany).  

Deliveries on the home market of Germany also grew, with 578,400 (560,100; +3.3 percent) customers taking possession of a new model there.  Volkswagen Passenger Cars delivered 244,700 (263,300; -7.1 percent) vehicles in Central and Eastern Europe in the twelve months to December. 128,100 (156,300; -18.0 percent) units were handed over to customers in Russia.

Volkswagen Passenger Cars delivered 586,700 (622,300; -5.7 percent) units in the North America region last year, of which 367,000 (407,700; -10.0 percent) were handed over to customers in the United States.  Deliveries in the South America region from January to December decreased to 662,600 (804,300; -17.6 percent) units, of which 541,700 (623,800; -13.2 percent) were handed over to customers in Brazil.

In contrast, deliveries in the Asia-Pacific region grew by a substantial 9.0 percent from January to December 2014, with the brand handing over 2.97 (2.73) million vehicles to customers there. 2.76 (2.51; +10.0 percent) million vehicles were delivered in China (incl. Hong Kong) during the same period.

* Deliveries for 2013 have been updated to reflect subsequent statistical trends.  The Saveiro model, which is mainly sold in South America, has therefore been included in deliveries for the Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand retroactively from January 1, 2013.  As a consequence, in purely mathematical terms deliveries by the brand in 2013 have increased retroactively from 5.93 to 6.02 million vehicles.