Staff photo by Dan Henry/Chattanooga Times Free Press - Jan 10, 2011 - Wheel detail of the all new VW Passat TDI SEL.The Volkswagen brand set a new global sales record for the first four months of the year, selling almost 2 million vehicles despite a downturn in the United States, the company reported today.
VW delivered 1.99 million vehicles in the period, up 4.6 percent over the same period last year, according to VW Group.
In April, the VW brand's sales were up 6.8 percent to 513,400, the company said in a statement.
The brand recorded a 16.2 percent increase in deliveries in the Asia-Pacific region in the first four months to 993,400. Sales in China accounted for 921,400 of that figure and were up 17.5 percent, the company said.
"Volkswagen Passenger Cars grew deliveries yet again in April. On the one hand that is due to good sales developments in China and Europe," said Christian Klingler, board member for sales and marketing for the Volkswagen Group.
In the U.S., VW sold 118,200 vehicles through April, down 10.4 percent.
The company is weighing where to produce a new sport utility vehicle, and VW has termed the Chattanooga plant as the front-runner for the project. A top VW of America official said recently that a decision is expected "pretty soon."