VW breaks Australian sales record

In case you missed it, Volkswagen's aggressive sales drive has already begun.

The German brand has beaten its all-time sales record in Australia -- set 47 years ago when the original Beetle roamed the streets.

Indeed, Volkswagen is well on track to double local sales by 2018 -- the company's deadline for global leadership. If Volkswagen Australia were to achieve its goal, on today's sales rates the brand would be catapulted to third or fourth position outright. At present it is ranked 10th, just behind Honda and Subaru.

Although VW is yet to publish sales figures for October because there are still a few days remaining (the last published result showed VW had sold 28,475 cars to the end of September), a spokesman for Volkswagen Australia said more than 32,000 cars have been sold so far this year, which means VW has overtaken its previous sales record set in 1963.

Speaking at the launch of the new Passat in Barcelona overnight, Karl Gehling told the Carsales Network: "We will achieve a new sales record for Australia this year. In fact, we already have and the year isn't over yet.

"Whatever that final record number is for the year will depend on how successful the last two months of the year are. As of this month we've actually overtaken our previous sales record and we still have a couple of months to go."

The company estimates it will come in just below 40,000 sales for 2010. VW is already comfortably in 10th spot on the sales charts just 3000 or so sales behind Honda and Subaru. But it could overtake both those Japanese brands by the end of next year with its new-model onslaught of 11 arrivals over the next 12 months.

Before this year is over, VW will introduce the new Polo GTI and an updated version of its Caddy van.

Then next year the flood of arrivals includes (in approximate order) the Amarok ute (pictured), new Touareg 4WD, new Passat mid-size car, Golf Blue Motion diesel, facelifted Eos convertible, and the new Jetta sedan.

Also believed possible, although not yet confirmed for next year, is the new Passat CC coupe-like sedan and the facelifted Tiguan compact softroader. The Scirocco sports-coupe is also still on the cards, although Gehling admitted to the Carsales Network two days earlier that VW is concerned about how the Scirocco would fit in the local line-up. It would possibly steal sales from the strong-selling Golf GTi.

Volkswagen is due to unveil the new Beetle and the production version of the Up! small city car internationally next year -- but they won't make it to Australian showrooms until 2012.

Volkswagen has changed a lot since the company last sold more than 32,000 cars in a calendar year in Australia.

In 1963, the previous record year, there were only three models in the line-up –Beetle, Karmann and Kombi. Back then you could buy a brand new 1200cc Beetle for as little as $1598 (plus on-road costs) and the highlight features for that year included a new lockable rear engine cover.

Meanwhile, VW's sales growth in Australia is being matched by the company's growth globally.

Volkswagen has for the first time ever delivered more than five million vehicles to customers in the first nine months of a year -- 12.7 percent up on the same period last year.

The tally of 5.37 million sales compares to 4.76 million sales in January to September 2009. In September alone, deliveries rose by 7.9 percent to 663,100, the company said. 

Key to the company's growth were strong sales in China and the USA. So far this year VW sales in China are up by 39 percent to 1.48 million vehicles, and up by 21 per cent in the USA to 267,500 vehicles. Volkswagen deliveries in the Asia Pacific region rose by 39 per cent.

Growth across Europe as a whole has been modest (up 1.1 per cent), with the exception of Russia (up 27 per cent).

But VW has been struggling at home; sales in Germany are down by 19 per cent in the wake of last year's cash-for-clunkers incentives that pulled a lot of new-car sales forward, although it has been travelling better than the overall new-car market in Germany (down 27 per cent).

"We anticipate the Group will set another new record for full-year deliveries. Even though a positive trend is expected for the automotive industry, we nevertheless remain cautious," Group Board Member for Sales Christian Klingler said in a statement issued by the company.

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