Things looked seemingly warped last week when Chairman VW group, Ferdinand Piech spoke of having distanced himself from Martin Winterkorn. Volkswagen AG Supervisory Board’s Executive Committee released a statement today saying Prof. Dr. Martin Winterkorn is the best possible Chairman of the Board of Management for Volkswagen.
The Executive Committee is enthusiastic about Dr. Winterkorn in his role as Chairman of the Board of Management. He has the full support of the Committee, which will propose to the Supervisory Board to extend Prof. Dr. Winterkorn’s current contract in the Supervisory Board Meeting of February 2016.
In March 2015, Volkswagen Group sold 968,300 vehicles (PY 946,900 units) up 2.3 pct. Group Board Member for Sales Christian Klingler says delivery trend in Q1 2015 does not guarantee a successful year. Western Europe showed positive momentum. Markets in Central and Eastern Europe, and South America were uncertain.
Volkswagen Group reached the million mark for the first time Q1 in Asia-Pacific region at 1.00 (0.98; +2.1 percent) million vehicles. 898,400 (PY 881,100) units, up 2 pct were delivered in China, the Group’s largest single market. However, growth in China is slower than market performance.
VW delivered 205,800 (PY 197,800) units, up 4.1 pct in North America region for Q1 2015. 131,600 (PY 133,500) units were delivered in US, equating to 1.4 pct sales decline here.
Volkswagen passenger cars delivery stood at 1.48 (1.50; down 1.3 percent) million vehicles. In March 2015, VW sold 558,600 (PY 563,600) units, down 0.9 pct. Christian Klingler, Board Member for Sales and Marketing for the Volkswagen Group and the Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand says demanding conditions on markets in South America, above all Brazil, and Russian impacted delivery.
Asia is favorable to budget cars and compact SUVs. Unfortunately, Volkswagen doesn’t not have an offering in either segment for markets in teh region.
Volkswagen India reports 22 pct sales increase in March 2015 at at 4,577 units. Volkswagen Polo, one of the safest hatchbacks here contributed significantly to sales growth. New Jetta and Limited Edition Vento Magnific launch contributed to sales volume. Michael Mayer, Director, Volkswagen Passenger Cars, Volkswagen Group Sales India was happy to note significant hike in sales in March. VW aims to continue uptrend.
Audi sales stood at 438,200 (PY 412,800) vehicles, up 6.1 pct. In March 2015, Audi sold 177,950 cars, up 4.4 pct to report its best month in company history. March sales helped Q1 performance. Sales chief, Luca de Meo says its a successful start to the year with strongest Q1 of all time. Audi AG has now reported sales increase for 63 months in a row.
In H2 2015, Audi Q7 will contribute to sales figures in Europe. Orders are already exceeding expectations even before market launch. Through Q1 2015, A3 family sales were up 43.8 pct, Q3 up 9.6 pct and A6 up 8.1 pct. Audi USA sales were up for the period by 13.8 pct at 40,098 units.
Audi Asia-Pacific region sales were up 7.6 pct to 162,150 units in Q1 2015. Sales in South Korea grew 34.9 pct to 9,194 units sold in January-March. Audi sales in Australia were up 15.3 pct in Q1 2015, and in China, up 7.1 pct with 133,316 deliveries. Audi India sales for Q1 2015 stood 3181 (PY 2740) units, up 16.09 pct
Porsche delivered 51,100 (PY 38,700) vehicles, up 32.2 pct. Skoda delivered 265,100 (PY 247,200) vehicles, up 7.2 pct. Skoda India sold 4100 (PY 4700) cars, down 12.76 pct in Q1 2015. For January, February, and March, Skoda India sales stand at 1400 (PY 1600) units, 1100 (PY 1300)units, and 1500 (PY 1700) units, equating to 12.5 pct, 15.38, and 11.76 pct sales decline, respectively.
Seat registered sales at 102,700 (PY 93,400) units, up 10 pct. Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles sales were reported at 108,200 (PY 103,200) up 4.8 pct. MAN brand deliveries were down 16.4 pct at 22,100 (PY 26,400) units. Scania heavy trucks and buses reported lower deliveries at 17,500 (PY 18,800) units, down 7.1 pct.
