(July 9, 2014) WOLFSBURG, Germany — For the first time in company history, Volkswagen has sold over three million cars in the first half of a year. A total of 3.07 million vehicles were handed over to customers worldwide, representing an increase of 3.8 percent. Volkswagen Passenger Cars delivered 514,900 models in June, up 1.1 percent from June 2013.

“Developments at Volkswagen Passenger Cars in the first half year were stable thanks to the brand’s convincing model range. The Golf in particular continues to be a bestseller — not only as a classic Golf, but also in the Variant or Sportsvan versions,” said Christian Klingler, board member for Sales and Marketing for the Volkswagen Group. “The situation on global markets will remain challenging in the second half of the year and will keep us very much on our toes.”

The Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand delivered 864,100 vehicles compared to 843,600 in 2013 on the overall European market in the first six months, of which 451,300 models were handed over to customers in Western Europe (excluding Germany). Deliveries in the home market of Germany also increased by eight-tenths percent: 285,700.

In contrast, deliveries in the Asia-Pacific region in the first half year grew by 16.8 percent, with the brand handing over 1.5 million vehicles to customers. In China, 1.39 million units were delivered, representing an 18.5 percent increase.

Volkswagen Passenger Cars delivered 282,600 vehicles, down 8.7 percent, in the North America region in the period to June, of which 179,100 (206,800; -13.4 percent) models were handed over in the United States, a 13.4 percent decline from 2013.