Volkswagen global sales slip 1.4pc

VOLKSWAGEN says that despite strong economic headwinds, it delivered around 4.8 million vehicles across the 2024 calendar year – a 1.4 per cent reduction on the previous year.

In its home market, Volkswagen dominated with a 19.1 per cent market share. Similarly, five of the top 10 cars in the German market were from Volkswagen, including the Golf, T-Roc, Tiguan, Passat, and Polo.

According to the German Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA), battery electric model sales rose slightly, with Volkswagen taking 16.3 per cent of the German BEV share, an increase of 2.8 percentage points over 2023.

Volkswagen said that since launching the ID. family of electric cars in 2019, it has sold over 1.35 million units worldwide, including around 500,000 units of the ID.3.

Last year, Volkswagen sold a total of 383,100 battery electric vehicles.

But in the broader market, Volkswagen sales have slipped slightly when compared with last year’s figures.

In Europe, the brand delivered 1,254,500 new vehicles (down 1.7 per cent year-on-year), and in China 2,198,900 new vehicles (down 8.3 per cent year-on-year).

Sales in the Americas were more positive, with North American deliveries up 18.4 per cent (to 592,300 units) and South American deliveries up 21.1 per cent (to 479,000 units) year-on-year.

The German manufacturer said global demand for its SUV models remained high in 2024, with both conventional and electric powertrains proving popular. Overall, SUV sales accounted for 47 per cent of total Volkswagen deliveries, an increase of 1.4 percentage points over 2023.

As in 2023, the Tiguan was the most popular Volkswagen SUV sold globally, followed by the T-Roc.

Global passenger car sales we led by the Polo, with a record-breaking 172,510 units delivered to Brazilian customers alone.

“Around the globe, 2024 was a difficult year with sluggish economic activity, political challenges and intense competition – particularly in China,” explained Volkswagen board member for sales, marketing and aftersales Martin Sander.

“Yet, we are beginning the new year with optimism. Not only do we have attractive products, but we are meeting the needs of a wide variety of customer groups with our extensive, diverse model range that covers all drive types.”

Locally, Volkswagen sold 36,480 units across 2024, down 16.8 per cent on the year prior.

Highlights of the Australian range include the Polo (2154 units, up 132.1 per cent), Caddy Cargo Van (746 units, up 18.8 per cent), and Amarok (8400 units, up 26.8 per cent).

However, sales of the Volkswagen Golf fell to 2929 units (down 18.5 per cent), Multivan to 543 units (down 23.6 per cent), T-Cross to 2003 units (down 65.2 per cent), T-Roc to 7777 units (down 13.0 per cent), Tiguan to 4582 units (down 37.2 per cent), Tiguan Allspace to 4211 (down 7.3 per cent), Touareg to 921 units (down 1.4 per cent), and Transporter to 875 (down 9.9 per cent).

2024 Volkswagen sales by region: