Volkswagen Group reports a strong first-quarter increase in vehicle sales despite weaker demand in its biggest market, China.
The automaker says it delivered 2.04 million vehicles globally, up 7.5% compared with the same quarter last year, while in China, sales fell 14.5% to 644,500 vehicles. Sales in Western Europe boosted overall figures, up just over 25% thanks to the easing of semiconductor shortages.
While the Group’s worldwide deliveries of BEVs were up 42.1%, it experienced a 25.4% decrease in sales of all-electric vehicles in the Chinese market in Q1, to 21,500 units. This is attributed to increased competition facing Western automakers from domestic producers able to market less-expensive BEV products.
Currently BEVs make up a third of new-car sales in the country. So far, VW’s mass-market brands have lost share in China over the past year as domestic brands such as BYD gain ground.
