Volkswagen 2012 Sales Approach 2.8 Million Cars

Volkswagen is a hard name to get away from in automotive news.

But credit where credit is due: while Volkswagen Group is busy buying Porsche and owning all of Bentley, Bugatti, SEAT, and Skoda; and while Audi (which Volkswagen owns almost all of) is busy laying siege to the global luxury car market, the people's car is also busy selling millions of its own badge.

Volkswagen Passenger Cars sold more than 2.79 million vehicles to customers worldwide in the first half of 2012, Volkswagen Group announced today. This represents a 10.2 percent increase over the same period last year.

In the month of June alone, the company delivered 498,600 units, a 13.7 percent increase over last year.

"The Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand developed well in the first half of the year despite the difficult situation in Western Europe. However, there is still considerable uncertainty in Europe which will continue into the second half of the year," sales and marketing head Christian Klingler said in a statement from Wolfsburg today.

Volkswagen Passenger Cars sold 907,900 units in Europe, an increase over 2011 for the overall European market of 3.1 percent.

The number of sales in Western Europe (excluding Germany) fell 4.7 percent to 464,300; but deliveries in Central and Eastern Europe rose by a substantial 45.2 percent to 134,000 vehicles. Deliveries in Russia increased to 81,100, a whopping 78.1 percent increase over the first six months of 2011. In Germany, the German carmaker sold 309,700, a 2.6 percent increase over last year.

In the Asia-Pacific section of the globe, Volkswagen Passenger Cars increased sales 15 percent, delivering 1.09 million units. Of these, 982,600 were sold in China, a 15.2 percent increase.

In the North America, sales rose 24.2 percent to 295,300, of which 208,700 were in the US. This represents a 35.4 percent increase. South American sales rose 4.0 percent to 390,900 cars.