German multinational automotive manufacturer Volkswagen Group reported an increase in sales in 2023, buoyed by its mass-market cars and premium brand Audi. The sales last year outdid the pre-pandemic deliveries, according to data released by the company. The carmaker reported a 12% rise in deliveries last year to 9.24 million vehicles supported by easing of supply chain bottlenecks.
Sales of brands like SEAT/CUPRA jumped 34.6% while passengers cars under Volkswagen brand saw a rise of 6.7%. Audi, which had struggled to recover from the pandemic and hovered around the same sales figures since 2020, reported a rise in sales at 17.4%.
The Volkswagen brand handed over about 3.94 lakh fully electric vehicles to customers globally, showing an increase of 21.1% compared to the previous year. However, it witnessed slowing of EV sales as compared to its German competitors. The company was forced to cut shifts and staffing at EV-producing plants late last year when demand was not developing as expected.
The main growth areas for Volkswagen Group were Europe with 19.7% increase in sales while 17.9% jump was seen in North America. The company had a challenging year in China last year, where the market share of its joint ventures with FAW and SAIC – including the Volkswagen, Audi, and Jetta brands – shrank from 14.8% to 14.2%, according to data from the China Passenger Car Association. However, despite challenges, deliveries in China grew by 1.6%.
Share of battery electric vehicles (BEV) in total vehicle deliveries rose to 8.3% whereas the increase was 34.7% at 771,100 units as compared to 572,500 BEVs sold in the year-ago period. “We are pleased with the market success of our strong brands and models. It is positive that all major brands and all regions are growing,” said Oliver Blume, CEO of the Volkswagen Group. The company is set to release its financial results on March 13.