UPDATE 1AUTOSHOWVolkswagen sells record 6.2 mln cars in 2007
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DETROIT, Jan 13 (Reuters) - Volkswagen (VOWG.DE: Quote, Profile, Research), the
world’s fourth largest carmaker, increased group vehicle sales
by 7.9 percent to a record 6.189 million units last year thanks
to growth at all 8 brands and forecast a further gain for 2008.
“There will be growth but whether it will be 8 percent
again, I cannot say,” Chief Executive Martin Winterkorn told
reporters at the Detroit auto show.
He added that pretax profit exceeded the 5.1 billion euros
($7.54 billion) previously forecast for 2007, but declined to
say by how much.
Each nameplate from Volkswagen’s stable of brands was able
to improve its sales performance over 2006.
The group’s flagship VW brand increased sales by 7.8 percent
to a record 3.66 million vehicles, thanks to strong gains in
Brazil, China as well as Central and Eastern Europe, where
demand grew anywhere from a quarter to nearly a third.
Volkswagen’s premium marque Audi saw its sales rise by 6.5
percent to 964,200 vehicles as the brand with the four
interlocking rings managed to rack up its 12th straight year of
sales records.
While the group’s struggling Spanish unit SEAT managed to
eke out tiny growth of 0.4 percent to 431,000 units, the success
of Volkswagen’s Czech value brand Skoda continued unabated with
sales jumping 14.6 percent to 630,000 cars.
Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, which overwhelmingly builds
delivery vans like the Caddy and larger Crafter models,
increased its sales by 10.7 percent to 488,700 units. Continued…
