Defying deep misery in its home market Europe, Volkswagen grows its sales elsewhere. Powered by strong gains in the Asia-Pacific and North American regions, Group sales were up 5.1 percent for the January through July period. In the month of July, the Volkswagen Group eked out a 3.2 percent gain in Group deliveries. Meanwhile, Volkswagen did beat GM in China by a hair, and the race for World’s Largest Automaker promises to be thrilling through the rest of the year.
While the fact that Volkswagen Passenger Car sales dropped half a percent in July received major headlines and snide remarks, an important milestone remained unreported – so far: The Volkswagen Group passed GM in the important battleground China. Volkswagen reports 1.79 million as group sales in the first seven months, while GM claims 1,788,972 units as sold in the Middle Kingdom for the same period. Of course, the Volkswagen number is rounded, and rounding the GM sales, the two are neck-on-neck. In July, Volkswagen sold 250,000 units in China, while GM sold 221,580. Both groups report strong sales from China, with Volkswagen up 18.5 percent in the first seven months, and GM up 10.7 percent.
Volkswagen Group Sales July 2013 | ||||||
7M’13 | 7M’12 | YoY | Jul’13 | Jul’12 | YoY | |
Total | 5,450,000 | 5,190,000 | 5.1% | 757,700 | 734,500 | 3.2% |
Europe | 2,160,000 | 2,230,000 | -3.1% | 290,000 | 300,000 | -3.3% |
WEurExD | 1,120,000 | 1,150,000 | -2.6% | 150,000 | 140,000 | 7.1% |
Germany | 678,900 | 708,100 | -4.1% | 95,000 | 102,000 | -6.9% |
EEUr | 365,400 | 376,300 | -2.9% | 52,400 | 53,400 | -1.9% |
Russia | 175,000 | 180,100 | -2.9% | 25,100 | 27,500 | -8.7% |
North America | 512,600 | 457,900 | 11.9% | 74,700 | 68,100 | 9.7% |
USA | 356,800 | 324,200 | 10.1% | 52,900 | 49,000 | 8.0% |
South Am | 523,500 | 566,500 | -7.6% | 73,000 | 97,000 | -24.7% |
Brazil | 386,300 | 425,200 | -9.2% | 53,500 | 78,100 | -31.5% |
Asia-Pacific | 2,000,000 | 1,720,000 | 16.6% | 270,000 | 240,000 | 12.5% |
China | 1,790,000 | 1,510,000 | 18.5% | 250,000 | 210,000 | 19.0% |
India | 56,600 | 69,400 | -18.4% | 7,400 | 8,500 | -12.9% |
Source: Volkswagen. Blue: Calculated from file data |
Europe, where Volkswagen still has about 40 percent of its sales, is a drag on the company’s sales. Deliveries in the European market were down 3.1 percent for the first seven months and 3.3 percent for the month of July, both compared to the same period in the previous year.
Volkswagen Group Sales July 2013 | ||||||
7M’13 | 7M’12 | YoY | Jul’13 | Jul’12 | YoY | |
Volkswagen Passenger | 3,380,000 | 3,260,000 | 3.7% | 470,000 | 470,000 | 0.0% |
Audi | 911,800 | 852,800 | 6.9% | 131,300 | 119,600 | 9.8% |
Porsche | 95,300 | 13,700 | ||||
ŠKODA | 534,300 | 565,600 | -5.5% | 69,700 | 72,600 | -4.0% |
SEAT | 212,100 | 189,200 | 12.1% | 30,000 | 25,900 | 15.8% |
Volkswagen Commercial | 316,600 | 317,400 | -0.2% | 45,900 | 47,300 | -3.0% |
Source: Volkswagen. Blue: Calculated from file data |
According to CNBC, China “has become a proxy for the battle the companies are waging to be the global leader in auto sales.” GM has not announced is global sales for July, Toyota will announce by the end of the month. Through the month of June, the leader board looked like this:
Tracking the world’s largest automakers | ||||
Jan-Jun 2013, full year forecast | ||||
6M’13 | 6M’12 | YoY | Proj ’13 | |
Toyota | 5,054,940 | 5,247,777 | -3.7% | 10,110,000 |
GM | 4,853,000 | 4,670,000 | 3.9% | 9,706,000 |
Volkswagen | 4,886,000 | 4,681,000 | 4.4% | 9,772,000 |
Black: Company data. Green: Projection, based on last available |
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Toyota, VW: Production. GM: Sales |
As you can see, Toyota is set to break the 10 million unit barrier by the end of the year, afact that the company acknowledged in recent forecasts. Unless a major accident happens, Toyota should end the year as the world’s largest automaker. The race for the number two slot is wide open. It can be won by Volkswagen or GM.