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Volkswagen Sales Up 56 Percent - Best May Since 1979

4 June 1999

Volkswagen Sales Up 56 Percent - Best May Since 1979 - Record Jetta Month - Passat Sales Continue to Increase

    AUBURN HILLS, Mich., June 2 -- Volkswagen of America, Inc.
today reported its best May sales in 20 years.
    In May, Volkswagen sold 29,704 new cars in the U.S., which represents a
56.0 percent increase over last year's mark of 19,046.  Not since 1979 has
Volkswagen enjoyed May sales of this magnitude.
    For the year, Volkswagen is well ahead of last year's results.
Year-to-date, the German automaker has sold 119,855 new cars in the U.S., up
51.4 percent from the same period in 1998 when sales were 79,174.
    May also demonstrated increased demand for Volkswagen's best selling Jetta
model, which was completely redesigned for the 1999 model year and introduced
last December.  Volkswagen sold 12,245 new Jettas in May versus 1998's mark of
8,977, an increase of 36.4 percent.  It marks the best single month sales
figure in the history of the model, which was originally introduced in the
U.S. in 1980.
    May also represented another record sales month for Volkswagen's award-
winning Passat sedan and wagon.  The Passat enjoyed its best sales month ever
with 6,861 sold in May, versus last year's mark of 3,734, an increase of
83.7 percent.
    Volkswagen's popular New Beetle continues to attract an ever-increasing
number of new buyers.  In May, 7,071 New Beetles were sold, an increase of
159.0 percent over 1998's May mark of 2,730.