Chattanooga Passat

Volkswagen's Chattanooga-made Passat hit new highs for July and year-to-date sales, the company said today.

The midsize sedan recorded sales of 10,051 last month, up more than 11 percent versus a year ago, Volkswagen Group of America reported. For the year, the company has sold 66,170 units through July.

Nearly 40 percent of Passat sales in the month were the diesel-powered model, according to VW.

The Passat sales hikes came even as VW posted lower results overall for July.

VW delivered 35,779 vehicles in the month, down 3.3 percent over July 2012, the automaker reported.

Mark McNabb, Volkswagen of America's chief operating officer, told reporters in a conference call that they should keep in perspective where VW has come from over the past three years.

"We're coming off some pretty strong numbers," he said.