FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Volkswagen on Friday said that group deliveries rose by 7.4% in the third quarter, thanks to strong demand in Europe and North America that was able to offset a decline in China, the world’s top auto market.
Overall, Volkswagen recorded group deliveries of 2.34 million vehicles in the July-September period. In China, deliveries fell 5.8% to 837,200 in the period, Volkswagen said, joining rival German carmakers in unveiling a quarterly drop.
Mercedes-Benz and BMW earlier this week saw their third-quarter sales in China fall, with the former being hit by supply chain issues and model changes.
China has been a tough market for carmakers, who have battled weakening demand as well as fierce price competition that Mercedes-Benz CEO Ola Kaellenius last month described as “Darwinistic”.
Car sales in China still continued their recovery in September, rising for the second consecutive month, benefiting from stronger demand and new models ahead of key holidays.
(Reporting by Christoph Steitz and Tristan Chabba, Editing by Rachel More)
