The Detroit News - Volkswagen AG is on track to post record vehicle sales in the U.S. and worldwide this year, after boosting deliveries by 11.7 percent in November.
In the U.S., the German automaker appears likely to surpass its all-time-high of 570,000 unit sales set in 1970. For the first 11 months of the year, VW Group sales were up 33.9 percent at 534,000 vehicles.
Worldwide, VW sales were up 10.4 percent at a record 8.29 million vehicles, with nearly all of the automaker's brands posting increases.
"More vehicles were delivered in 11 months than during the whole of last year," said VW global sales chief Christian Klingler.
But the outlook isn't encouraging. "We are preparing for a very challenging year in 2013," Klingler said.
The European market is forecast to contract for a sixth consecutive year, and Germany's economy is showing signs of weakness now because of the prolonged downturn in indebted southern European countries.
So far this year, VW sales are flat in Europe, but sharply higher in the U.S. and China.
Sales of VW's premium brand Audi have expanded 12.7 percent in the first 11 months to 1.19 million vehicles worldwide. Among its volume brands, only Seat, based in Spain, is down this year.
VW added Porsche in August to its portfolio of brands, which includes Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini and Skoda.
