VW group sales up 4% boosted by China, US demands

Volkswagen said group vehicle sales rose by 4 percent in November as strong demand in China and the United States helped offset flat deliveries in Europe.

Global sales rose to 826,600 last month from the same month a year earlier, VW said. The figure includes sales for all group brands including the VW, Skoda and Seat mass-market marques along with Audi, Porsche and Bentley.

VW said 11-month group sales rose 5 percent to 8.68 million. The company is aiming for record sales of 9.5 million cars this year, up from 9.3 million in 2012, CEO Martin Winterkorn said in September at the Frankfurt auto show.

"Our brands enjoyed particularly strong growth in China. However, the challenges on the other world markets remain unchanged," Christian Klingler, VW's sales chief, said in a statement released on Dec 15.

Through November, sales in China rose 17 percent to 2.96 million, while US deliveries rose 4 percent to 557,000. In Europe, sales were down 1 percent to 3.36 million.

VW Group brands except Skoda increased sales in the first 11 months.

Audi sales were up 7 percent to 1.44 million and volume at the core VW brand increased by 3 percent to 5.4 million.

Porsche, which joined Volkswagen's brand portfolio in August, sold 147,300 units in the first 11 months.

Skoda sales fell 3 percent to 850,700, while Spanish unit Seat made the biggest gain through November, rising 11 percent to 324,500, as the Spanish carmaker continued to benefit from strong European demand for its new Leon compact range.