Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles set for seventh record year

Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles is on track for a record seventh successful year in the UK with a 12.2 per cent increase in registrations for the first six months of 2007 to 14,185 vehicles compared to 12,635 during the same period last year.

One of the best sales performances so far this year has been from Volkswagen’s smallest van, the Caddy, with an extra 800 Caddy vans sold – representing a 27.1 per cent jump in sales compared to the same mid-year point in 2006.

The Transporter continues to be the most popular model for Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles in the UK. It has achieved a 22.4 per cent increase in sales to 8,527 units compared to the first half of last year.

Since its launch last year, the new Crafter, which is the largest in Volkswagen’s van range, has been in strong demand across all of Europe. This year, the UK has also seen the launch of Volkswagen’s own ‘Engineered To Go’ range of Crafter conversions – tipper, dropside and Luton.

Robert Hazelwood, Director of Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles UK said: ‘The stage is set for another record sales year in the UK in 2007.

‘Our vans are proving more popular than ever, not just because of their quality and comfort, but also because stronger residuals and the service and support from the unique Volkswagen Van Centre network means they make sound business sense, too,’ he continued.

Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles has also enjoyed a successful first half of 2007 across Europe and the rest of the world. By the end of June, European sales have increased by 4.6 per cent to 180,500 vehicles, while worldwide sales, including its Brazilian truck and bus division, increased by 7.6 per cent increase to 231,500 vehicles in the same period.

In the first half of 2007 worldwide Caddy sales have increased by 7.4 per cent to 66,800 vehicles; the Transporter, with its many versatile derivatives, remained one of the best-selling vans in its class in Europe with sales up 3.7 per cent to 93,350 vehicles; while the new Crafter increased sales by 1.5 per cent to 20,600 vehicles.

Harald Schomburg, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles board member for sales and marketing said: ‘We are continuing our success and have again achieved the best results for a first half year in the brand history. We have been successful with all models in both European and overseas markets.’