Record first quarter sales for VW and Renault

A TOUGH worldwide market for new car sales has not deterred some manufacturers from making hay in the first quarter of 2008.

Among these are Volkswagen and Peugeot, both of which have claimed record sales in the first three moths of this year.

In delivering 1.572 million new vehicles from January 1 to March 31, VW has lifted worldwide sales by seven per cent. In Germany, the VW group accounted for 32.3 pre cent of the market while in China it sold 268,204 vehicles to record a 32.4 percent rise in sales.

VW passenger and commercial vehicles, Audi, Skoda and Lamborghini all recorded all-time best sales during the period.

Sales to countries such as China and Brazil played a major part in the record performances

VW says the establishment of production facilities for Skoda in China contributed to the group's performances, with 16,212 of the Czech cars sold during the period.

In addition to China and Brazil, VW says it performed well in Russia and India. Sales in the declining US market fell by a modest 0.7 of a per cent.

Meanwhile, the Renault group upped first-quarter 2008 sales by 6.5 per cent on those for the same period in 2007, with Renault-branded vehicles up 4.7 per cent and Dacia up 37 per cent to counteract Renault Samsung Motors' loss of nine per cent in sales compared with the same period in 2007.

According to Patrick Blain, Renault Group's executive vice president of sales and marketing, "The Group has grown its sales as forecast, with the launch of four new models in the first two months of the year -- New Kangoo PC and LCV, Clio Estate and Grand Modus. Five other models set for launch in 2008, including Koleos and Sandero, will help to further this dynamic".

European sales into a market that was down generally by two per cent in the first quarter were "stable" with a minor drop of 0.2 of a per cent, while in Germany the Renault group was up by 19.5 per cent. Sales in the Netherlands, Switzerland and Austria all increased significantly in 2008.

Renault Group sales outside Europe rose by 22.1% in the first quarter, with an increase of 10.5 per cent in the Americas, contributed to by a 72.3 per cent rise giving record sales in Brazil that counteracted a small drop of 1.1 per cent in Argentina.

In the 'Euromed' region, the group increased sales by 20.5 per cent through strong performances in Romania, Russia, Algeria, Turkey and Morocco.

In the Asia-Africa region sales increased by 41.7 per cent.