The Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand closed 2011 with a new record: For the first time in a twelve-month period, the brand delivered 5.1 million vehicles to customers worldwide.

“The Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand made major gains last year thanks to a fresh, innovative and environmentally-friendly model range. Our new vehicles such as the Passat, Jetta and Beetle, as well as the up!, have made an excellent start in difficult market conditions – conditions that will remain challenging in 2012 – and significantly strengthened Volkswagen’s competitive position,” the group board member for sales, Christian Klingler, said in Wolfsburg on Friday.

The Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand reported major gains on key growth markets. For the first time ever, more than 1.72 (1.51; +13.8 percent) million vehicles were delivered to customers in China (including Hong Kong) in 2011. Volkswagen handed over 324,400 (256,800; +26.3 percent) vehicles to customers in the United States, and in Russia deliveries totalled 118,000 (58,900) units, a surge of 100.4 percent compared with the prior year. Volkswagen also developed particularly well in India, where the brand reported a very substantial rise in deliveries to 76,100 (30,300; +151.0 percent) units.

Volkswagen Passenger Cars recorded a 16.6 percent overall increase in deliveries in the Asia / Pacific region during the past twelve months to 1.93 (1.65) million vehicles. In North America, Volkswagen grew deliveries to 496,700 (406,400; +22.2 percent) units and reported a 2.2 percent increase in South America, where 772,800 (756,500) vehicles were delivered. There was also a generally positive trend in deliveries in Europe, where the Volkswagen brand handed over 1.72 (1.55; +11.2 percent) million vehicles to customers, thus clearly outpacing the overall market (+3.6 percent).