VW sales boost bucks trend
April 21, 2009 by David Twomey
Bucking the general atmosphere of doom and gloom in the world car industry Volkswagen has grown its market share globally in the first quarter of this year.
From January to March, the German company’s global share rose to 11.0 per cent, up from 9.7 per cent.
At the same time VW passenger cars brand also bucked the negative economic trend, growing its world market share to 7.4 per cent, from 6.3 per cent.
The growth for Audi and Škoda was much more slight with each reporting a 0.1 per cent increase in market share, while SEAT’s share remained stable.
“Our young and efficient model range with some 180 different vehicles is paying off. Our portfolio contains exactly the cars which are in demand with customers,” Detlef Wittig, Executive Vice President, Group Sales and Marketing, commented in Wolfsburg.
In an overall market that has shrunk by more than 20 per cent, VW Group delivered 1.39 million vehicles to customers worldwide. During this period, the Volkswagen brand sold 876,000 units.
Europe’s largest carmaker outperformed competitors in most key sales regions, and in Western Europe, the Group grew market share from 18.6 to 20.6 percent.
Its market share in Central and Eastern Europe grew to 12.9 per cent, while in Russia; in a market that is down 39 per cent, the Group grew deliveries significantly to some 25,800 units, an increase of 14.1 per cent, and now ranks fourth on the Russian market.
The Asia/Pacific region, which includes Australia, did not fare so well but while there was a noticeable 8.7 per cent drop in the market, the Volkswagen Group reported a rise in deliveries to 318,200 vehicles, an increase of 2.9 per cent. In China, deliveries rose to 284,200 units, an increase of 6.0 per cent.
“During this year we will be debuting around 60 new models, product enhancements and successors with highly-efficient, low-consumption engines, Mr Wittig said.
“With this model rollout, we are very confident that we can, as planned, perform significantly better than the competition in 2009,” he commented.
Print it: 
The increase in sales is largely due to government incentives such as scrappage payments. I wouldn’t be surprised if we see VW group topple Toyota in the next 10 years. They have the product line up to do it.
There is more to it than government incentives. I am glad buyers are able to recognise VW often has the better product compared to competition that often focuses on promotions/hype instead of engineering efforts.
Most European cars have great engines, its just a shame they have no idea what their doing when it comes to wiring electronics and computer systems. Most VW customer complaints are from speaker wiring losing contact, power windows jamming batteries dying any pretty much every other part in the car other then the engine itself.
I’ve seen so many bran new European cars broken down on the side of the road. I would never buy anything but a Japanese made and built car. They may not have the latest engine technology but there electrical systems and parts cant be beat, Even Korean cars have wiring superior to European..
VW quality is no better than every other mainstream brand.
sorry i should specify, mechanical quality. Even the ’soft touch rubbers and plastics wear no better than cheaper materials used.
I’ve sold them and saw it first hand.
That first golf is driving into the hill.
Too much angle buddy.
But Adam, they do wear better. You can drive a Golf 100,000 miles and the interior will still be as tight and good as it was when new. The only car in the market segment that’s better than the new Golf for interior quality is maybe the Audi A3.
Vid Ghost, are you kidding me? You haven’t seen the Toyota Hazard Flasher Syndrome in your travels? That is to say, a stranded Toyota with its hazard flashers turned on. Toyota drivers LOVE using their hazard flashers, but hate the expensive cause, which is usually a holed head gasket.
VW increase in sales is due to demand in the major markets of Germany (scrappage), China and Brazil (which, combined, account for half of all VW groups sales) Volkswagen has the luck of being strong in the markets that are currently growing. It has nothing to do with product, more to do with product placement.
Alex,
They have fantastic interior build quality from new no doubt, the catch is higher interior material quality doesn’t always age better.
Hard plastics can age better in fact, i’ve seen plenty of gold interiors where the thin rubber coatings on the door pull handles and window switches peeling off.
I also agree that Jap vehicles and Oz vehicles have better electricals.
I’ve seen plenty of 1-4 year Euro vehicles with oil leaks, electrical issues that cost much more than Jap vehicles to rectify.
I work for a major auction company, we are also on the same location as pre-delivery for Ford, Mazda, Subaru, Honda, Holden, Kia, VW, Volvo, Landrover and Jag.
I’ve driven plenty of mainstream brands that have done 100,000 plus and i’m sorry to say Audis, BMW’s and Merc interiors age just like the rest.
I agree with The Salesman also on product placement.
In the US VW has a poor quality reputation.
Salesman, a goal’s a goal, even if it’s soccered through.
The Volkswagen Group present a broad range of products through a broad price range. They manufacture high quality vehicles that are; well engineered, bolted together, have superior endurance, and reflect the latest trends in both a combination of technology and user friendliness. The local product is just outperformed every turn.
Vid_Ghost, I think you took the wrong pills last night.
Will,
have any facts to back you up?
Do you even work in the auto industry or are you simply a keyboard warrior?
Adam, I am not going to get involved in an eternal circle of my contribution is somehow worth more than yours.
I have driven many fleet vehicles in my time, and state unambiguously that the local product is crap; easily maintained crap perhaps, but crap just the same.
However, just to take one of your statements; “Oz vehicles have better electrics”. Good Grief! It reflects your credibility as you stated working in auction house, those who are better informed may deem this just pissing in the snake oil.
About QUALITY: let’s not confuse FUNCTION with RELIABILITY. Some people rate RELIABILITY higher than FUNCTION, these are people who are not interested in driving experience or car capabilities so much.
I would rather take FUNCTION and sacrifice a buit of RELIABILITY as the case with VW. I’d rather enjoy the car 364 day a year and let it sit extra couple of day in workshop than be stuck with a boring but reliable car all year round.
The reason VW is doing well is because they sell the correct products to the correct market, especially the emerging markets. Something the other players fail to do.
Now VW needs to get the cost of servicing and total cost of ownership down, and there will be a strong case for them to reign supreme over toyota. If, however, they fail to reduce the cost of servicing and fail to improve their reliability, toyota may well remain as the ‘bread and butter’ buyers choice.
We shall see how this plays out…
There sure are some hysterical losers’ comments here.
VW is no good, they shriek in desperation, VW is lucky because they sell where people buy, etc.
Folks, you don’t get positioned in the market where VW is by luck – you get that position by foresight, planning, developing the product range that hits the right spot at the right time, and keeping the pressure on the competition by releasing a plethora of new models, variants, engines, transmissions with unrelenting regularity.
The fact that past models (and present ones) aren’t perfect is irrelevant. Many people are passionate about their VWs whereas no-one could be passionate about an Aurion, could they?
Hi Guys Did any of you watch the TopGear episode of Clarkson & Co driving 3 clapped out cars across the Kalahari. Two were German and the other Italian. All 3 had their problems at some stage of the journey but fortnately all managed to get going as no one wanted to drive the back up car which never broke down a VW Beatle I rest my case!
Will,
Many fleet vehicles, yeah ok. If you won’t elaborate and claim you’re unwilling to enter ‘eternal circle’, i’m simply left to judge you don’t work in the auto trade therefore your experience extends to maintained company vehicles you drive for a period of time and hand back.
My assumptions were also incorrect before i started to work with vehicles day in and day out :)
Reckless1,
I too would choose a vehicle based on driving passion than one that pretends to be a white goods on wheels.
The fact is VW’s quality is no better than the industry average and most brands actually equal eachother.
Will Says:
April 21st, 2009 at 2:59 pm
However, just to take one of your statements; “Oz vehicles have better electrics”. Good Grief! It reflects your credibility as you stated working in auction house, those who are better informed may deem this just pissing in the snake oil.
Do you understand that the cost and complexity of fixing an electrical problem in a civic, Alfa or Peugoet will certainly cost far more than an astra, focus or 3??
Try an oil leak also…
How about a transmission issue?
or perhaps an interior display panel?
Every Jeep we have done a safety certificate on requires a large margin on money, not to mention steering feel and accuracey of a farm tractor, huge fuel thirst and servicing costs yet people think it’s such an image boost to ride around in a wrangler!?
Work that out…
The same applies for people who MUST drive an Audi, VW when an accord Euro or Mazda 6 is thier equal…
I assume you are the latter :)
Reckless1 your comments are pure correctness , spot on my friend could not have said it better .
Thanks for the heads-up, Holstein –
Must be because I was born in Schleswig-Holstein :)
Will,
VW cars maybe at industry standard for parts and electrical failure rates,
All I’m saying is that Japanese cars have superior electrical systems in both quality, complexity and materials over all other manufacturers. And above average failure rates for parts. Yes Toyota’s may die after a while but I’m talking about failures in 6-12 month old cars… Almost bran new.
I know whenever I look for a Quality electronics its always Japan and Korea
Lets not forget how far ahead Japan is in automated robotic manufacturing as well as robots and technology in general ^_^ We want them on our side will otherwise they will come for us, just like those ninja bots tried to take out Robocop in Robocop 3
^ pure correctness if you actually like VW’s of course. You can’t be passionate about something you don’t like. As it always does, it comes down to personal preference, some may like the Aurion (can’t imagine why), while others may not be crazy about VWs. let’s face it – if you are unfortunate enough to have a bad run of luck with a particular car, from that point on you’re never going to be particularly enamoured to that brand again. I once had an XF ute with the most problematic transmission known to man. To this day I would find it hard to buy another Ford – I’m aware that this is probably very irrational, but I can’t help it. So if people have had a problem with a VW, then you will be hard pressed to sway their unfavourable opinion of them. You can’t blame people for having an opinion, or call them hysterical losers.
HAL WAS THAT THE 5 SPEED MANUEL , KEPT REPLACING CLUTCHES AND BIG TROUBLE FINDING REVERSE , WHAT A LAFF THAT WAS NOT,
HH, nah, it was the 4 spd auto. If I was to list the problems it had I would be here forever. The biggest lemon of my car-buying career.
HAL,
Sounds like the first batch of the new Borg Warner 4 speed auto that lso caused massive issues in the EA falcon from late 1989, apparently the they suffered primarily from hub failure?
^ oops, make that the 3 spd auto.
lol which is surprising, they are known for reliability.
All hail the Volkswagen, If it’s good enough for Hitler, it’s good enough for me! Hail Hitler!
Vid-Ghost, regarding robotics, what do you think the DSG is?
I think maybe I’ve missed the point here (possibly due to completely off the topic comments). Is the VW group selling more cars than it was before, or has their market share increased? If they’re selling more units than before, that is truly incredible. But if their market share has increased, why would we be surprised?
We keep hearing that the market share of some of the world’s other major manufacturers (ie. GM & FordMoCo.) have plummeted, so it would stand to reason that their percentage of sales are going elsewhere. To VW perhaps….? Call me crazy but I think it’s a pretty logical.
Now, please continue discussing the varying quality of interior plastics…..
LONG LIVE THE PRIDE OF THE FATHERLAND !!!
Getreal are u by any chance a NAZI !!
On the Motor Authority or Left Lane News website (cant remember which one) they are actually saying VW could dethrone the big T by the end of the year. Good thing i say.
Getreal, not a smart thing to say, especially with ANZAC day coming up.
Brett, (with the double T)
Spot on.
Actually VW has announced a SALES DECLINE of 16% and PROFIT DROP of 74% for the first qtr.
So much for headlines and the real truth……
(Not that this phenonema is unique to CA)
To hopefully put the generic quality argument to rest here is my 2 cents:
Japanese and Korean auto workers work like robots, ultra efficient and have a level of correctness to their work few other countries can compare to, they also have to because the level of competition for employment in these countries is phenomenal. Manufacturers in these countries also have different values of how a car looks, drives, how easy it is to use and of course how reliable it is.
German auto workers in comparison still have a reasonably high level of these characteristics, however their values are more focused on the drivability, how comfortable is is to be in, how ergonomic it is/ease of use and of course how efficient the drive train is. There is less competition (in numbers) for auto work in Germany than compared to the other countries because there are many times less people there. Plus, it is hard for any manufacturer to do all good from one country, totally different cultures.
As for how well Volkswagen are going to fare in last half of the financial year, my prediction:
they will focus their efforts on small ultra efficient petrol and diesel engines which are a lot cheaper and which have far superior embodied energy/emission levels compared to more expensive and highly polluting hybrid drive trains. Combined with this the inclusion of an industry leading percentage of recycled components they should be in a position to float through the recession to pop out into the new generation of reasonably sustainable cars which don’t need more than one planet to produce cars on.
Affordable sustainable cars for the people is what a good manufacturer should be aiming for and a little birdie told me that the dub will be climbing the plateau sooner than latter if they go with that strategy.
A message to “GETREAL”: not cool to post things like that, Volkswagen was privatized a long time ago and is now completely disassociated from any Nazism.