VW China Q1 sales up 61% to 457,000 units

German auto giant Volkswagen AG on Monday reported a 61-per-cent surge in vehicle sales in its biggest global market in the first quarter of 2010, forecasting continued strong growth in China for the rest of the year.

Volkswagen Group China said it sold more than 457,000 vehicles to its mainland China and Hong Kong customers from January to March, an increase of 60.9 per cent from the first quarter of 2009.

Sales of the group's Volkswagen, Audi and Skoda branded cars "exceeded expectations" and all rose by more than 50 per cent, the company said in a statement.

"The Chinese auto market maintained its impressive momentum of swift growth, benefiting from a strong economic recovery and a renewed incentive policy on the vehicle purchasing tax," Winfried Vahland, president of Volkswagen Group China, said in the statement.

"Sales in the first quarter allow us to be more optimistic," Vahland said. "We will speed up our product offensive and focus especially on customer satisfaction in the coming months."

Ford Motor Company announced its best-ever quarterly performance in China from January to March, with sales rising 84 per cent year-on-year to 153,362 units.

Mercedes-Benz also said its China sales jumped by 112 per cent to 23,610 units in the first quarter.

Volkswagen sold more than 1.4 million vehicles to its mainland China and Hong Kong customers in 2009, an increase of 36.7 per cent from 2008.

Copyright DPA