Volkswagen AG share price up, reports sales of more than 10 million vehicles in 2014

Volkswagen AG announced that it managed to deliver more than 10 million vehicles in 2014, marking the accomplishment of an annual sales goal four years earlier than the company initially planned, thanks to stable growth in China.

The Germany-based company has set an objective to become the largest auto manufacturer by sales by 2018, while continuously working on improving its profitability.

The Chief Executive Officer of Volkswagen – Mr. Martin Winterkorn – revealed in a statement that the auto maker not only managed to expand its sales, but is also “making good progress” in improving profitability and customer satisfaction.

As reported by the Wall Street Journal, Chief Executive Officer Winterkorn shared that the companys annual sales for 2014 represent “impressive confirmation that we are vigorously implementing our Strategy 2018 despite challenging market conditions”.

Volkswagen reported a 4.2% increase in deliveries in 2014 to 10.14 million vehicles, including the ones of its Porsche and Audi car brands and MAN and Scania heavy trucks.

Europes biggest automotive group also shared that increased sales in China and Europe, where the company reported respectively a 12% and 5.1% sales jump, helped neutralize a decrease of 2% in the U.S. and 20% in Latin America.

Volkswagen also successfully continued the expansion of the small Skoda brand, which managed to sell more than 1 million cars. In addition, the company reaffirmed its plans to focus on further boosting profit now that it has managed to meet its long-planned sales target.

Demand for Volkswagens vehicles was not hurt despite the recalls in 2014. However, the withdrawals highlight the difficulties car manufacturers face when aiming to achieve economies of scale by using equivalent parts and components across a wide range of models.

Volkswagen AG rose 0.39% to trade at €181.60 per share at 10:12 GMT in Frankfurt, trimming its one-year decline to -10.12%. The company is valued at €85.04 billion. According to the Financial Times, the 30 analysts offering 12-month price targets for Volkswagen AG have a median target of €217.20, with a high estimate of €260.00 and a low estimate of €150.00. The median estimate represents a 20.07% increase from the previous close of €180.90.