VW is continuing to head towards its goal of reaching "the top of the automotive industry" despite a Euro-wide decline in vehicle sales.
The German auto giant revealed record sales of more than eight million vehicles in 2011, bringing in increased sales revenue to a company high of €159.3bn ($211.6bn more than 25% up on the previous year. The boost in sales also lifted operating profits to new levels with a 50% improvement at €11.3bn ($15bn).
Will the MAN Skyliner help VW buck the Euro sales trend? Image: MAN |
New additions to the VW range and product mix, along with 'price effects', were claimed to be the main catalysts for the record-breaking figures. Even the €2.6bn drag of fixed costs, depreciation and expenses were put down to the overall growth and development of the VW Group which, as well as the VW and Audi brands, also includes Skoda, SEAT, luxury UK-marque Bentley and truck makers MAN.
Unsurprisingly, much of the company's growth came from sales to the BRIC countries, particularly China and the prospects for 2012 are already looking good with deliveries already showing a 7.7% increase in the first two months of the year, which bodes well for helping VW's aspirations to become the world's leading automotive group.
However, it would seem that VW can expect little support from the European market, at least in the commercial vehicle sector. Europe's auto trade body, ACEA, announced an 11.3% drop in monthly registrations across all commercial vehicles, ranging from a 3.2% decline in France to a massive 28.9% drop in Italian sales.
In all, the EU recorded just over 267,000 commercial vehicles for the first two months of 2012, nearly 8% down on the same period last year.
All sectors from light to heavy vehicles were down on monthly registrations. The only sector to buck the trend was new buses and coaches over 3.5t, which saw a 2.5% improvement.