Volkswagen delivers record of 1.8 million vehicles in first half of 2007

The Middle East market witnessed a sales increase of a staggering 32 percent compared to last year.

The Touareg confirmed its special position as the most popular Volkswagen car in the Middle East region representing 33 percent of Volkswagen's total sales for the first half of 2007 and a 14 percent increase of sales in the first half of 2007 compared to the same period in 2006 in the region.

Hans-Dieter Keller, Managing Director of Volkswagen Middle East stated,

"We are experiencing significant growth in the region as a result of our attractive and increasingly individual model range. The Touareg is our bestseller in the region and the launch of the new generation Touareg recently has boosted our sales quite dramatically for the first half of 2007. The launch of Volkswagen's new coupe-convertible, the Eos, and the introduction to the Jetta 2.5 litre earlier this year has also contributed to this growth. Apart from the excellent model range, professional market coverage by our partners has been crucial to our success."

Overall, the Volkswagen Group delivered 3.09 million vehicles to customers throughout the world in the first six months of 2007, an all-time sales record for the company for the first half of the year. This corresponds to an increase of 7.8 percent over the same period last year.

Group deliveries from January through June 2007 in Europe rose by 3.7 percent to 1.86 million vehicles, 1.62 million of which went to Western Europe (1.3 percent increase. The 238,000 vehicles sold in Central and Eastern Europe marked an increase of 22.8 percent.

The Volkswagen Group sold 502,000 vehicles in the Asian-Pacific region, 20.9 percent more than in the first half of last year. The deliveries in China alone grew by 24.6 percent to 431,000 vehicles.

Sales developed positively in the first half of the year on the American continents as well. The Group's deliveries to customers in South America rose by 27.7 percent to 339,000 cars, of which 260,000 went to Brazil, generating 28.6 percent growth there. In North America, the sale of 263,000 vehicles produced a rise of 3.1 percent, whereby the USA registered 2.8 percent growth with 163,000 vehicles.