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.

ALL VW group brands are now accepted into supplying cars to the Crown Commercial Services.

Volkswagen Group UK Ltd – which encompasses the Volkswagen Passenger Cars and Commercial Vehicles, Audi, SEAT and ŠKODA brands – has been appointed as a supplier to the public sector, police and emergency services, securing a three-year contract under the new Crown Commercial Services (CCS) vehicle supply framework agreement.

The new three-year Crown Commercial Services (CCS) RM1070 Vehicle Supply Framework Agreement, which took effect in December, supersedes two agreements which treated the public sector and the police and emergency services separately, ensuring a wider audience for the Group’s extensive range of cars and vans. 

All Group brands, rather than individual models, have been appointed under the new framework, which again expands the potential reach of the contract to vehicles which until now may have been out of scope.

Behind the Volkswagen Group bid was Technical Sales Manager, Steve Cowell.  Commenting on the Group’s success he said: ‘The new CCS agreement provides us with much broader scope for supply and allows us to showcase vehicles within our range for a variety of different roles – from public sector pool cars through police ‘beat cars’ and ambulances to motorway traffic vehicles.’  He added: ‘We’re delighted to have been appointed under the framework and are committed to ensuring our vehicles and our people provide these important new customers with the service and back-up they need and deserve.’

Of 12 manufacturers who submitted tenders for commercial vehicle approval, five were awarded contracts, including Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles; for passenger cars, 12 of 18 tendering manufacturers were approved, four of which were Volkswagen Group brands.  The first orders under the new framework were taken just before Christmas.

Skoda previews Third generation Superb Flagship model with a rear end Sketch.

• New ŠKODA flagship revolutionises the brand’s design language
• Strong appearance: expressive, elegant, dynamic, discrete and modern
• Striking:design elements from the ‘Škoda VisionC’ coupé study

The new ŠKODA Superb revolutionises the familiar ŠKODA design language. A new sketch shows an expressively designed saloon full of class and passion. The design is sophisticated, elegant, dynamic, discrete, modern and expressive.

The new ŠKODA flagship has striking, expressive shapes from the ‘Škoda VisionC’ show car with new, dynamic proportions. From the front to the rear, from the large wheels to the gently rearward-sloping roof line, the new Superb features clear geometry, strikingly contoured surfaces, sculptural shapes, purist precision and elegant lines as if made from one piece.

With its expressive exterior, the top ŠKODA model makes a visual impact in the automotive mid-class segment, offering a sharp and muscular look that is more poised and full of emotion than ever before. The expressive shapes of the exterior can also be found echoed inside the car.

The new model takes the ŠKODA Superb to the higher level of the automotive mid-class segment. The third generation model is expected to get new customers interested in both the brand and model. The new ŠKODA Superb will make its world premiere in Prague in the middle of February 2015, followed by its introduction at the Geneva Motor Show in March. The market launch is planned for mid-2015 for Europe, and autumn for the UK.