Volkswagen on Tuesday posted its first monthly fall
in sales in more than three years amid a slump in the European auto
market.
Europe's biggest carmaker said sales of its flagship VW brand
dropped by 0.8 per cent in March to 532,000, compared with the same
month last year.
"There were mixed developments on markets worldwide for the
Volkswagen passenger car brand," said sales chief Christian Klingler.
"As expected, markets are becoming more difficult, and in some
cases decidedly more challenging," he said.
VW sales rose by 5.2 per cent in the first quarter - down from an
increase of 9.1 per cent during the first two months of the year.
Deliveries in VW's key Western European market dropped by 10.3 per
cent in the first quarter as the effects of eurozone debt crisis were
felt in the region's car market.
Sales to South America dropped by 7.3 per cent led by a more than
5-per-cent slump in Brazil.
The decline was even more dramatic in Germany, with first-quarter
sales tumbling by 15.1 per cent in Europe's biggest car market.
However, sales in the Asia-Pacific region and the United States
continued to show solid gains.
While deliveries to Asia jumped by 20.9 per cent in the three
months to the end of March, sales in North America grew by 7.3 per
cent.
Also Tuesday, figures released by the world's leading premium
carmaker BMW highlighted the continuing strong global demand for
luxury autos.
Munich-based BMW said total sales of its stable of brands - its
core BMW as well as compact Mini and top-of-the-range Rolls Royce -
rose by 5.3 per cent worldwide during the first quarter.
Spearheading the increase was a 7-per-cent gain in deliveries of
its BMW brand, which was boosted by demand in the US and China - the
world's two biggest car markets.
BMW brand deliveries rose 4 per cent alone in March - the highest
monthly level in the company's history, the group said.
A similar picture emerged for BMW rivals - Mercedes Benz and VW's
luxury offshoot, Audi.
Daimler said last week sales of its luxury Mercedes-Benz saloons
climbed 3.5 per cent in the first three months of the year, while
Audi said Monday that first-quarter sales gained 6.8 per cent.
