Volkswagen has reported a 24.2 per cent increase in sales worldwide of light commercial vehicles for January-October with Middle East deliveries up 25 per cent.

Total sales globally were 433,500 vehicles in the first 10 months of this year, compared with 348,900 in the same period of the previous year.

The Caddy urban delivery vehicle range emerged as the top seller.

“The sales success of our brand this year has been more sustained and consistent than ever before,” points out Harald Schomburg, member of the brand board of management of Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles for sales and marketing. “But we are still keeping a careful eye on the markets and analysing the current general economic developments, so that we can react immediately to any fluctuations.”

With 131,500 deliveries worldwide (previous year: 104,400) and a rise of 25.9 per cent, the Caddy urban delivery vehicle range was again the brand’s top seller worldwide. 127,350 units were sold worldwide from the T5 Series with its variants Transporter, Caravelle, Multivan and California, a rise of 7.3 per cent (previous year: 118,700).

Crafter had 30,300 deliveries, up 2.1 per cent on the previous year (29,700). Sales volumes of the Amarok up to the end of October rose to 54,350 units (previous year: 14,300). The Pickup Saveiro, which is sold in South America, was 15 per cent up at 68,500 units (previous year: 59,600), while the Brazilian classic T2 was just under the previous year’s level with 21,500 deliveries (previous year: 22.200).

In Western Europe, from January to October, Volkswagen delivered 234,900 light commercial vehicles, achieving a rise of 17.3 per cent (previous year: 200,200). Germany remained the biggest individual market with 100,600 deliveries (previous year: 93,700 vehicles, an increase of 7.3 per cent). In Eastern Europe, sales rose by 41.9 per cent to 28,500 light commercial vehicles (previous year: 20,065). In this region, the brand scored particularly impressive successes in Russia, with 9,700 deliveries and growth of 90 per cent (previous year: 5,100). In the Middle East deliveries rose by 25 per cent to 24,500 units (previous year: 19,600). The high-volume region of South America was another success story with deliveries up by 27.3 per cent to 116,600 vehicles (previous year: 91,600).

“On most markets, we are achieving solid two-figure growth rates, due to the combination of technology fit for the future, good price-performance ratio, high quality, and consistent focus on our customers in cooperation with our importers and dealers,” as Schomburg is keen to emphasise.

MAN acquisition completed
Meanwhile, Volkswagen AG has completed purchase of a majority stake of fellow German truck producer MAN SE, opening the way to becoming “a new top player on the global truck market.”

VW has been trying for years to merge its commercial vehicle operations with MAN and with truck manufacturer Scania AB of Sweden, which Volkswagen has controlled for five years.

“The Volkswagen Group has moved a key step closer towards realising its goal of an integrated commercial vehicles group” by combining the three operations, VW said in a statement.

“Europe’s largest automaker now holds 55.9 per cent of the voting rights and 53.71 per cent of the share capital of MAN SE,” said Volkswagen, which is also a major worldwide automobile producer.

“This marks the birth of a new top player on the global truck market,” Martin Winterkorn, CEO of Volkswagen AG, said in a statement at VW’s Wolfsburg, Germany, headquarters.

The combined companies sell more trucks in Europe than do either Sweden-based Volvo AB or Germany’s Daimler AG.