Good year-on-year van delivery result sees Volkswagen predicting steady year
Volkswagen has started 2016 with year-on-year growth in light commercial vehicle deliveries, with January numbers jumping by 2.1 per cent on 2015.
According to the German company, it delivered 31,200 vehicles during the first month of the year, with 21,000 of those vehicles heading to Western Europe.
Shifting an extra eight per cent of vehicles in 2016, Western Europe’s month was headlined by a 31.5 per cent growth in France, a 29.8 per cent growth in Spain, and 24.2 per cent growth in Italy.
The company’s home country also saw an increase in deliveries during the month, rising 2.8 per cent to 7,800 vehicles.
However, not all of Europe saw positive growth during the month with the eastern markets recording a 7.4 per cent decrease.
Declines also continued in South America for Volkswagen, with a 10.6 per cent drop in deliveries on 2015.
While South America heads downwards, the Middle East is trending north with a 26.6 per cent increase on 2015, topped by a 29.9 per cent rise in Turkey.
Following the positive news, Volkswagen is anticipating a stable year for the division.
“The good start in January makes us confident that the demand for our models will also remain steady in the following months,” Volkswagen commercial vehicles board of management member responsible for sales and marketing Bram Schot says.
“It’s especially pleasing to see the growth in the European core markets.”
In terms of models, the growth was spread across the Caddy, T model, and Crafter ranges, with increases of 5.8 per cent, 4.9 per cent, and 7.5 per cent, respectively.
The Amarok was the lone declining light commercial vehicle range in January, recording a drop of 4.3 per cent year-on-year.