Volkswagen AG’s global sales rise, a 7-billion-dollar investment planned

The great demand for some of Volkswagen AG groups key brands, such as Audi and Porsche on the U.S. and Chinese market resulted in record growth of the global sales of the company. Currently Volkswagen AG is the largest auto maker in Europe. The company made an official statement on Saturday, announcing that its global sales rose by 5% and reached 9.7 million vehicles.

Volkswagen AG group said: “All group brands contributed to this very good sales result, a good achievement given globally difficult market conditions.” The company also shared that they expect this years market conditions to be similar to the ones of 2013.

The company announced it had sold 611,700 vehicles in the U.S., which is a 2.6% increase. The Chinese market is still Volkswagens largest one, with 3.27 million vehicles sold, which means its sales rose 16.2%. Two of the key brands of the company also recorded record global sales. The sales of Audi rose 13.5% on the U.S. market, and the sales of Porsche rose 20.7%.

Volkswagen AG also emphasized a couple of times on its desire to boost the sales of its branded vehicles in the U.S. The goal set for the company to reach is 1 million cars a year by 2008.

The company is still focused on seeking growth outside Europe. According to some rumours, Volkswagen AG plans to make a 7-million-dollar investment in North America over the next five years. This move is part of the companys strategy to speed up its growth in the region on the account of some of its competitors, such as General Motors Co., Ford Motor Co. and Toyota Motor Corp.

At an auto show news conference in Detroit, the Chief Executive Officer of Volkswagen AG – Martin Winterkorn, said: “We have not made that decision in the supervisory board”. This statement came as a response of the rumour the company becomes more concentrated on the market in North America. Volkswagen explained that it intends to make an investment in a new plant in the region, but it has not chosen a location yet. Mr. Winterkorn also said: “The U.S. is a cornerstone of our 2018 strategy.”

Volkswagen also intends to invest in producing a midsize sport-utility vehicle. Jeff Williams, who is the owner of Williams auto world, which is a Volkswagen-Audi-Subaru dealership in East lansing, Mich, said: “We really need that vehicle. That is a big, big segment and we have to be competitive there.”

According to Bloomberg, the current share price of Volkswagen AG is 1.01% up, and its one-year return rate is 22.62% up.