For those who weren't aware of it, the Volkswagen Group happens to own quite a few other automotive brands, including elite makes like Lamborghini, Bentley, Bugatti and Porsche. And with the ties between two of the Group's brands—Volkswagen proper and Audi—being particularly close, it can make sense to consider those two in the same light as Toyota and Lexus or Nissan and Infiniti. Another similarity: Like the Japanese brands, the Germans are enjoying a big-time rush of success, with VW reporting its best July since 1973 and Audi notching an all-time sales record for the month.
July Auto Sales: VW Award Winners Set New BenchmarksVolkswagen sales climbed 27.3 percent last month, reflecting 37,014 deliveries, and the brand’s individual sales leaders were attracting both the customers and the critics in July:
- The Volkswagen Passat achieved a July record 9,007 sales and a whopping 661.4 percent increase, along with segment victories in the Autobytel/AutoPacific Ideal Vehicle Awards (IVA) and the J.D. Power and Associates Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout (APEAL) Study.
- Total VW Golf sales outperformed the industry with a healthy 13.5 percent improvement on 4,008 sales, while garnering the top spot as Most Ideal Compact Car in the IVAs; also, the Golf and its hi-po variant the VW GTI both finished second in their segments in the APEAL Study.
- Among premium SUVS, the VW Touareg was the No. 2 finisher in the APEAL study and lifted sales by 41.8 percent in July (with 740 deliveries).
In addition, the VW Tiguan was the beneficiary of a 26.2 percent sales jump (delivering 2,966 units) and the all-new VW Beetle continued to increase its traction with 2,839 July sales.
“Volkswagen has proven demand and enthusiasm for our products with over 37,000 units sold for the month, continuing the pace of double-digit sales growth for 2012,” said Jonathan Browning, president and CEO, Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. “We’re pleased to see consumers embracing our strong lineup of award-winning, fuel-efficient, high-quality vehicles and we expect our growth to continue.”
July Auto Sales: Audi Keeps Sales Streak AliveIt’s now been 19 consecutive months of record sales for Audi, which raised the bar by 28 percent in July and sold 11,707 vehicles. And much as was the case with VW, Audi’s fast-selling current lineup includes plenty of recent award-winners:
The Audi A4 led all rivals as the Most Ideal Aspirational Luxury Car in the IVAs, following up its top-three finish in the Entry Premium Car segment in the APEAL rankings. Last month’s sales? Up 51.7 percent, with 3,449 July deliveries that led Audi in terms of volume. The Audi A6 won its class in the APEAL Study and also won over 1,691 new customers last month, 66.8 percent more than in July 2011. Also, the Audi Q5 and Audi Q7 were in the top three in their segments in the APEAL ratings, while outpacing the industry with growth rates of 10 and 12.8 percent respectively; volume for the former reached 2,090 units, with the latter good for 891 sales.
Audi’s two other top sales performers last month were the Audi A3 (+49.3 percent, 651 units) and Audi A5 (+31.9 percent, 1,732 units).
“Audi models exude emotion and innovation, and consumers are responding,” said Mark Del Rosso, chief operating officer, Audi of America. “A record July kicks off a second half that will see the brand gain even more sales momentum.”
