According to Dataforce, a total of 155,433 vehicles from the Wolfsburg-based Group’s passenger car brands Volkswagen, Audi, SEAT and SKODA were registered in the fleet market during Q1 of 2012. The figure for the previous year was 155,221 and so represents an increase of 0.1%.

With an increase of 1.3% to currently 81,846 registered vehicles, Volkswagen brand remains the unchallenged number one-ranked brand in the five largest individual EU markets.

In regard to passenger car brand rankings, Audi achieved an increase of 2.9% to 48,409 registered vehicles, making it number one in the premium segment.

'The Volkswagen Group has further consolidated its market leadership in Europe. With our  global structure as well as a balanced and economical portfolio of models, we can offer our customers reliable consistency in these demanding times,' said Martin Jahn (Inset), head of Volkswagen Group Fleet International.