VW’s sales in China jump 9.2% in first half

Source: Xinhua | 2018-07-19

Volkswagen Group China sold a total of 1.99 million vehicles on China’s mainland and in Hong Kong in the first six months, up 9.2 percent year on year, to Volkswagen said on its official website yesterday.

“The performance for the first half of 2018 is very positive with nearly double-digit growth, which provides us with a confident outlook for the rest of the year,” said Jochem Heizmann, president and chief executive officer of Volkswagen Group China.

Heizmann added that sales growth is driven by the company’s strong sport utility vehicle offensive and the robust performance of sedan models.

China’s auto sales climbed 5.6 percent from a year ago to 14.06 million vehicles in the first half of this year, according to data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.

The German automaker also said lower import tariffs on cars and auto parts, which came into effect on July 1, impacted sales in the overall market in June and July, as some consumers postponed their purchasing decisions. But VW said this did not affect its performance and sales remained strong.