Hanover, 20 January 2010: Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles delivered 354,770 light commercial vehicles to customers worldwide in 2009 (2008: 447,244). This figure is 20.7 per cent lower than that of the previous year. Despite the negative economic cycle for commercial vehicles, Europe’s leading producer of light commercial vehicles was able to further expand its market shares.

“In 2009, we felt the full force of the economic crisis on the commercial vehicles economic cycle. The commercial vehicle sector as a whole has registered a dramatic decline in sales, because commercial vehicles were excluded from government investment programmes,” said Stephan Schaller, CEO of Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles. “Even Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles couldn’t escape the effects of the altered economic climate, but we have increased the distance between ourselves and the competition.”

The brand’s top-selling product was the Caddy, with a total of 139,826 units delivered worldwide (2008: 151,488; - 7.7 per cent). The passenger vehicle variant of the Caddy, the Caddy Life, was the only model in the brand’s product range to profit from the government’s environmental incentive.

The T5 model family (Transporter, Caravelle, Multivan and California) achieved delivery figures of 116,503 vehicles (2008: 177,729; - 34.4 per cent). The T5’s leading market share was further increased in this difficult environment.

The Crafter also suffered decreases in unit sales as a result of the economic crisis, with a total of 33,903 deliveries worldwide (2008: 50,595; - 33.1 per cent). But here again, market position has been improved.

The Saveiro and the T2, both light commercial vehicles manufactured in Brazil, were able to defend their market position with moderate delivery decreases. The Saveiro recorded 36,953 deliveries (2008: 39,367; - 6.1 per cent); in the case of the T2, 27,468 units were sold (2008: 27,911; - 1.6 per cent).

All in all, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles has dealt more effectively than its competitors with the negative economic cycle which, particularly in Europe, has led to a sharp decline in new light commercial vehicle registrations. Whilst the total market for light commercial vehicles witnessed a decline of 32 per cent*, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles delivered 258,002 vehicles in its principal market area (2008: 331,629; - 22.2 per cent). The brand was able to expand its market shares across the entire product range.

In the home market of Germany, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles’ model families have been able to continue the momentum from the previous year’s good sales results, with 123,676 deliveries in 2009 (2008: 124,850; - 0.9 per cent). In contrast, the total market for light commercial vehicles in Germany registered a decline of around 11 per cent.

“Despite market developments which have been dramatic at times, we have achieved our goal for 2009: namely, to remain number one in Germany and Europe, and to sustainably increase our market shares,” explained Harald Schomburg, Member of the Board of Management for Sales and Marketing. “Together with our importer and dealership organisations, we have performed significantly better than the market. Even in the recession, our customers continue to put their trust in the high quality and innovative technology of our vehicles, which stand for economical operating costs and high residual values.”

The Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles brand considers itself to be well prepared for 2010. “We know that 2010 will be another challenging year. The commercial vehicle business has hit bottom, but the difficult times are not over yet” said Stephan Schaller. “Our product innovations give us a competitive edge. The new and even more economical T5 has every chance of making a good start in its first full sales year. The new Amarok enables us to tap into new markets in the pick-up segment, which is expanding worldwide.”

(*Based on preliminary total markets)