Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles scores best-ever in 2011 for deliveries, sales turnover and results

Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles have achieved new record values in the 2011 fiscal year in deliveries, sales turnover and results. Last year, Europe’s leading brand in light commercial vehicles delivered more than half-a-million vehicles worldwide, boosting
turnover results to 8.985-billion Euro. Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles also raised operative results from the past fiscal year to 449-million Euro, with operative turnover yield up from 3.4 to 5 per cent.

Dr. Wolfgang Schreiber, Speaker for the Board of Management, is keen to point out that “Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles continue to be on a sustained course of growth. The impressive results from the past year are proof positive of the great trust which our customers place in our products.”

Deliveries in 2011
For the first time ever, the company sold 528,810 light commercial vehicles worldwide last year (previous year: 435,700), 21.4 per cent better than the previous year.

Top seller and driving force in the growth of the brand in 2011 was the Caddy. With 160,600 deliveries worldwide, the series was up 24.8 per cent (previous year: 128,800).

In Europe, registrations were up by 27.1 per cent to 132,000 vehicles, which for the first time puts the Caddy generation in lead position in its market segment. “With a market share of 21.8 per cent and a lead of about 10,000 vehicles over the second-placed brand, we have established ourselves at the top in this fiercely competitive environment," says Chairman of the Board Harald Schomburg. And Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles are determined to retain this pole position. “We are already exploiting the full market potential which other manufacturers, as newcomers in this segment, will still have to try and develop in the years to come," says Schomburg. In Germany too, the Caddy is yet again the market leader, with deliveries at 53,700 and a market share of 49.3 per cent.

The T5-series, with the models Transporter, Caravelle, Multivan, and California, achieved a worldwide rise of 5.2 per cent to 155,800 deliveries in 2011 (previous year 148,100). 129,000 T5 were sold in Europe, 4.4 per cent more than in 2010, with 56,000 delivered in Germany. The T5 was the unchallenged market leader in Europe in 2011 as well as in Germany, with market shares of 24.5 per cent in Europe and 39.9 per cent in Germany.

The Crafter likewise continued on its upward trend in 2011, and achieved growth of 5.7 per cent to 39,600 units (previous year: 37,500). In Europe, Crafter sales were up by 5 per cent, to around 32,000 vehicles, including the German market with about 12,000 sales.

The newcomer in the Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles product range, the Pickup Amarok, saw a threefold increase in worldwide sales in its first full sales year, at 66,500 units (previous year: 22,500). More than half of these went to South America, with 34,000 sales, doubling the results from the previous year. In Europe the Amarok achieved 14,000 deliveries, almost 12,000 more Volkswagen Pickups than in 2010. In Germany, the Amarok was the market leader for the first time in 2011, with a market share of 28.9 per cent, and, at 4,200 deliveries, sales figures were doubled. The Amarok took first place in Austria too, with a 32.9 per cent market share, and in Switzerland with 25.4 per cent.

From the end of June 2012 the Amarok in the DoubleCab version will be produced at its home location of Hannover.The vehicles produced there will be delivered to Europe and Africa, while South America and the other markets will be serviced from Pacheco.

More than 1,000 people will be involved in the Amarok production in Hannover. “This means that our traditional plant in Hannover will remain with a high work load, productive, and profitable," Schreiber explains.

Deliveries of the Saveiro were up by 10.6 per cent to 81,200 units (previous year: 73,400). At 25,100 vehicles sold, the T2 was 3.6 per cent below its previous year’s figure of 26,100 units sold.

In 2011 Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles confirmed their top position in Europe in the segment of urban delivery vehicles, Transporter and Crafter. “This makes Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles the market leaders in Europe for the fifth time in succession - and we have even been able to develop our lead still further," as Schomburg is keen to emphasize. Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles also achieved good sales in the region of Central and Eastern Europe, with 36,500 deliveries (+36.6 per cent), the Asia/Pacific region, with 11,700 Transporters sold (+48.2 per cent), and in South America, where 141,100 vehicles (+20.6 per cent) were handed over to customers. Schomburg again emphasized that, thanks to the excellent product range, the consistent focus on customers’ requirements by way of specialized dealers and importers, and the positive image of the brand, he foresees further clear growth potential for Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles all over the world.

Results development in 2011
The financial figures reached new best-ever values in 2011. “It was the growth in sales that the Caddy and Amarok were able to achieve in particular which boosted sales earnings substantially compared to 2010," explains Klaus-Dieter Schurmann, Member of the Brand Board for Finance and Information Technology.

Sales turnover for the brand grew by 21.5 per cent to 8.985-billion Euro (previous year: 7.392-billion Euro). Operative result, at 449-million Euro, achieved a historic all-time high (previous year: 232-million Euro).

Schurmann emphasises, “The excellent result is attributable to both the volume growth as well as to the fall in material costs thanks to improved purchasing performance."

Net cash-flow, at 480-million Euro, was again clearly positive. Capital yield, at 17.5 per cent, was above the minimum return on equity of 9 per cent.

“We are a company with powerful earnings and committed personnel, healthy processes, technically leading products, and a solid financial basis. These factors continue to provide us with the financial flexibility needed for us to be able to expand our position even further in the face of international competition in years to come," Schurmann pointed out.

Outlook for 2012
“In order to reduce the dependency on the traditional markets in Europe, for some years we have been successfully strengthening our sales activities on important growth markets outside Europe," explains Schreiber. As from this month, for example, the Multivan will be on sale in China, and the Transporter and the Multivan in Indonesia. Other new markets in 2012 will be Nigeria, Angola and the Sub-Sahara. “Our top-quality products offer us every opportunity of exploiting the market potentials in those regions consistently and effectively, and pressing ahead with the internationalization of our brand, and without neglecting our core market in Europe," says Schreiber. The middle to long-term goal at Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles is to raise the world market share from the present 5.4 per cent to 10 per cent, the Speaker for the Board added.

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