The Volkswagen brand ended 2010 with a new sales record: 4.5 million vehicles, up 14% year on year, were delivered to customers worldwide for the first time in a 12-month period.
The brand claimed “substantial growth” in key markets such as China, the US, Russia and India. Over 1.51 million vehicles, up 35.5%, were delivered in China while US sales rose 20% to 257,000. Russian deliveries were up 49.1% to 59,000 units while Indian deliveries were up more than 10 times to 30,300.
PSA sold a record 3.6m vehicles globally last year, despite continued trouble from the effects of the economic crisis. This was up from 3.2m vehicles in 2009 and chief executive Philippe Varin told reporters that the economic climate was “better than expected”.
PSA were able to sustain sales in many markets thanks to government subsidies which rewarded car buyers for purchasing smaller, more economical vehicles.
The Renault group have set a new record with sales of 2.6 million vehicles, an increase of 14% on 2009.
The three brands Renault, Dacia and Renault Samsung Motors have all increased volumes. In Europe, the group increased market sha re by 1 point and raised sales volumes by 7 %, with 1,642,000 units sold in a market that contracted by 3.6%. Outside Europe, the group are continuing to progress in high-growth markets (+19%), with sales volumes surging by 26% to almost 983,000 units. Group sales outside Europe now account for 37% of sales, compared with 34% in 2009 .
