German auto giant Volkswagen global sales hit record high in 2013

Due to increasing demands from Asia-Pacific regions, especially from China, German auto giant Volkswagen global sales hit record high in 2013, the company has said . From January to December 2013, Volkswagen delivered more than 9.7 million vehicles around the world. The sales grew by about 5 % from 2012, when 9.3 million vehicles were delivered, the Wolfsburg-based manufacturer said in a statement issued here on Saturday. Most of the growth was contributed by Asia-Pacific market, where 3.64 million vehicles were sold in 2013, 14.7 % higher than in previous year. Among the total sales in the region, 3.27 million were handed over to customers in China, Volkswagen's largest single market. The sales rose by 16.2 % year-on-year. Deliveries in the North America also grew by 5.6 % to 888,800 units. In the United States, sales was up by 2.6 % to 611,700 vehicles. In its home market of Europe, however, Volkswagen's delivery declined by 0.5 % to 3.65 million vehicles in 2013. "All brands contributed to these very positive results which are a very good achievement in light of the difficult conditions on markets all over the world," said Christian Klingler, Board Member for Sales of Volkswagen adding, "As far as the current year is concerned, we expect market developments on a level similar to 2013. Even though the situation in Europe would appear to be stabilizing, economic uncertainty will continue and the challenges we will be facing on markets will remain virtually unchanged." German auto industry association VDA forecasted in a December report that global auto sales in 2014 would increase by 3 % to 74.7 million units, among which nearly 23 % would be contributed by China market, while over 21 % by the U.S. "The German manufacturers could go along with the high rate of growth in China," said Matthias Wissmann, president of the association.