In total the brand delivered 5.74m vehicles to customers over the 12 months, with a total of 517,900 for December – a rise of 30.6%.

Deliveries were down 1.2% in the overall European market at 1.7 million vehicles and 6.9% in Western Europe, which recorded 844,500 units, but there was a 22.4% increase in Central and Eastern Europe, standing at 267,100 vehicles, and deliveries were up 39.6% in Russia to 164,700 vehicles.

In the Asia-Pacific region the brand reported a strong increase of 23.2% for the full year, with customers taking delivery of 2.37 million vehicles. Within the region, China saw deliveries of 2.15 million vehicles, up 24.8%. 

Sales were also strong on the American continent, with Volkswagen Passenger Cars increasing deliveries 25.5% to 623,300 units. The brand performed particularly well in the United States, where 438,100 vehicles were handed over to customers, up 35.1%. In South America, deliveries went up by 8.3% to 836,600 vehicles, of which 661,000 were handed over in Brazil – up 11.7%.

Commenting on the outlook for 2013, Christian Klingler, board member for sales and marketing for the Volkswagen Group and the Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand, said: ‘2013 will be a very demanding year, and we will be facing new and difficult challenges. But we are well prepared.’