Volkswagen Q1 Sales Rise On Strong Demand In Europe, Offsetting Decline In China: Retail Remains Bullish

German automaker Volkswagen AG (VWAGY) said on Wednesday that it delivered 2.13 million vehicles globally in the first quarter, marking a jump of 1.4% from the corresponding period last year.

While sales rose across North America, South America, and Europe, China's figure fell by 7%, the company said. The company attributed the drop to the intense competitive situation in the market.

Battery electric vehicle sales in the quarter rose to 216,800 units, accounting for 10% of the company’s overall sales, owing to strong sales growth in Europe and the U.S., which offset a deep 37% decline in China.

The Volkswagen ID.4/ID.5 was the company’s best-selling EV in the quarter, followed by the Volkswagen ID.3 and the Audi Q4 e-tron.

Volkswagen was the group’s best-selling brand in the quarter, followed by Audi and Skoda. However, sales of the Audi brand dropped 3.4% to 383,400 units.

The group’s sport luxury brand Porsche also witnessed a near 8% decline in sales to 71,500 units.

Marco Schubert, Member of the Group’s Extended Executive Committee for Sales, said the company has “overall good momentum” in its home region. The sales decline in China, he said, was expected.

“In the coming months, we expect additional tailwind from numerous newly launched models,” he added.

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around Volkswagen jumped marginally within the ‘bullish’ territory coupled by a two point drop in message volume over the past 24 hours.

Shares of Volkswagen on the OTC market are up by over 3% this year but down by over 41% over the past 12 months.

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