Volkswagen Group Australia Sells 29,875 Vehicles in 2008

SYDNEY, Australia – January 8, 2009: Volkswagen Group Australia has achieved a new record with 29,875 vehicle sales in a calendar year, its fourth straight year of growth.

Volkswagen maintained its position as the 10th highest selling brand in Australia for the year, growing at 9% in 2008, the highest growth of the top 10 brands. Volkswagen also increased its market share from 2.6% to 3.0%.

There were some stand out models in the range which performed well with significant increases over the prior year. Touareg +43.7%, Polo +36.5%, Eos +29.0% and Passat +7.7%. The Golf continues to be Volkswagen’s best selling model with 11,632 delivered last year an increase of 5.9%.

In the commercial vehicle range, the Volkswagen Caddy Van increased sales on the back of the new Caddy Maxi variant by 27.4%.

Volkswagen Group Australia’s Managing Director, Jutta Dierks, said 2008 was a challenging year but the Volkswagen brand continued to perform strongly and we are well positioned this year.

“As we move into 2009 we look forward to an increase in supply of Tiguan, which nicely matches the arrival of the recently launched petrol variants. We also have the Passat CC and a new Golf arriving in the next few months which will give us a solid base to work from this year. “Despite a challenging end to 2008, our strong dealer network, very successful diesel strategy and careful management of vehicle stock has Volkswagen well positioned for the year ahead,” said Ms Dierks.