JANUARY SALES - VW GROUP - Group shows slight gain worldwide in January.

• Group Board Member for Sales Christian Klingler:“We made a stable start to another challenging year”

The Volkswagen Group began the year with a slight increase in deliveries of 0.7 per cent. The Company with its twelve brands delivered 817,600 (January 2014: 811,500) vehicles worldwide. “The Volkswagen Group made a stable start to the year. 

Our premium brands Audi and Porsche, along with ŠKODA and SEAT, put in a particularly strong performance,” Group Board Member for Sales Christian Klingler said in Wolfsburg on Friday. “Looking ahead to the full year we can expect the global uncertainties to continue – and 2015 will be another challenging year,” Klingler added.

Including the figures for heavy commercial vehicles, Group brands delivered a total of 287,400 (279,400; +2.9 per cent) vehicles to customers on the overall European market in the first month of the year. 152,200 (149,300; +1.9 per cent) customers took possession of a new vehicle in Western Europe (excluding Germany). 89,300 (84,200; +6.1 per cent) units were delivered in the home market of Germany. 

The Group handed over 45,900 vehicles to customers in Central and Eastern Europe, matching the figure for January of last year. 13,800 (16,600; -16.9 per cent) units were delivered in Russia.

The Company delivered 63,200 (58,000; +9.0 per cent) vehicles in the North America region in January, of which 39,200 (36,900; +6.1 per cent) were handed over to customers in the United States. The Volkswagen Group delivered 53,900 (67,900; -20.7 per cent) vehicles in the South America region during the same period, of which 38,500 (48,500; -20.7 per cent) were handed over to customers in Brazil.

381,300 (375,000; +1.7 per cent) vehicles were delivered to customers in the Asia-Pacific region in the first month of the year, of which 351,400 (344,500; +2.0 per cent) were handed over in China (incl. Hong Kong), the Group’s largest single market.

Outline of developments at Group brands

The Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand delivered 507,100 (521,600; -2.8 per cent) vehicles to customers worldwide in January 2015.

The premium brand Audi handed over 137,700 (124,900) vehicles in the first month of the year, a substantial rise of 10.3 per cent.

The sports car manufacturer Porsche delivered a total of 16,000 (12,200) vehicles, representing an increase of 31.2 per cent compared with the previous year.

The Czech brand ŠKODA delivered 87,000 (80,900) vehicles in January, an increase of 7.5 per cent.

SEAT handed over 27,700 (26,000; +6.4 per cent) vehicles to customers during the first month of the year.

Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles delivered 30,600 (31,600; -3.3 per cent) vehicles during the same period.

The MAN commercial vehicles brand delivered 5,600 (7,800; -29.0 per cent) units in the first month of the year.

The Swedish brand Scania delivered 5,000 (5,600; -9,7 per cent) heavy trucks and buses to customers in January.

Ducati gives parent company cause to celebrate with increased sales in 2014.

• Fifth consecutive growth year for Bologna-based bike manufacturer
• Record sales achieved thanks also to the new Monster and 899 Panigale
• USA confirmed as Ducati’s most important market, with Asia growing fast (+ 11%)

In 2014 Ducati Motor Holding spa achieved a new sales record by delivering 45,100 bikes to customers, 2% more than in 2013, marking the fifth consecutive year of growth.

This increase also stemmed from the introduction of new products that, despite market uncertainty, made a clear contribution to what has been an outstanding result for Ducati. More specifically, with the introduction of the new Monster 1200 and Monster 821, Monster family sales rose by 31%, with 16,409 new bikes sold. 

The Superbike family, thanks to the widespread introduction of the 899 Panigale, which scored a +74% sales success with 5,806 bikes delivered to customers, enjoyed an overall growth of 12%, with a total of 9,788 bikes sold in 2014.

North American sales performance was in line with that of 2013, with Mexico experiencing 8% growth. The U.S. continues to be Ducati’s top market, with 8,804 units delivered to customers. Despite difficult market conditions, sales in South America increased considerably, especially in Brazil (+ 74%, 1,174 bikes sold); this was achieved thanks to considerable expansion of the dealership network in that country and the market introduction of the full model range with local CKD production.

In Europe sales slowed a little (-3% with 19,743 bikes), mostly due to challenging conditions on several markets. However, while sales in Italy fell short of those attained the previous year (-14% with 4,284 bikes), other European countries were almost stable, with the UK actually experiencing significant double-digit growth (+16% with 2,742 bikes).

Double-digit growth was also seen in Asia, where Ducati achieved an all-time sales record (+11% with 5,787 bikes). Performance was particularly strong in Thailand (+22% with 3,057 units) and China where sales volumes, with respect to 2013, almost doubled (+97%).

Ducati also succeeded in boosting sales in Australia (+13% with 2,132 bikes) and strengthening its performance in Japan (+1% with 2,558 units).