WOLFSBURG (dpa-AFX) - The Volkswagen Group delivered fewer vehicles in March than in the previous year. Sales fell by 1.4 percent to 800,600 vehicles, as the company announced in Wolfsburg on Wednesday. Deliveries fell in the European regions and in China, among others. In contrast, Volkswagen was able to increase sales in the American region. Sales of high-priced brands such as Audi and Porsche were down, while sales of the core Volkswagen brand and Seat developed positively.

In the first quarter, however, the Volkswagen Group delivered 2.1 million vehicles, a good three percent more than in the previous year, the Group reported. The main growth drivers were China, South and North America. In Western Europe and in the home market of Germany, sales fell by one percent in each case.

Vehicles with combustion engines increased by four percent to 1.97 million units in the first three months. This more than compensated for the three percent decline in all-electric models to 136,400 vehicles. Deliveries of e-cars in Europe fell by 24 percent; strong growth in China was unable to compensate for this. However, incoming orders in Western Europe developed positively from January to March, Volkswagen continued to report. More than twice as many all-electric models were ordered as in the same period last year, meaning that the order backlog in this segment currently stands at around 160,000 vehicles. Hildegard Wortmann, Member of the Extended Group Management Board for Sales, expressed her confidence "that we will grow in this segment both in our home region and worldwide for the year as a whole."/nas/stk