BERLIN, Nov. 9 (Xinhua) -- German carmakers Volkswagen and Audi delivered fewer vehicles in October, figures published on Friday showed.
Volkswagen vehicle deliveries were measured at 516,900 in October, marking a 6.2 percent decline compared to the same period last year. The Wolfsburg-based company said the development is partially due to weaker demand in China where uncertainty created by international trade conflicts witnessed a 9.8 percent fall in regional monthly sales to 274,100 vehicles.
Volkswagen also experienced a 7.1 percent decline in European deliveries in October to total of 122,000 due to lasting difficulties created by the transition to a new regulatory exhaust systems testing procedure in September. The fall in October sales was particularly dramatic in Volkswagen's German home market where deliveries were 11.7 percent below last year's level.
The decline in European sales was not as marked as measured last month however, with Head of Sales Juergen Stackmann expressing confidence that "this recovery will continue throughout November and December."
The company emphasized that it still sold a record 5.14 million vehicles in total during the first 10 months of 2018 in spite of challenges encountered during the third quarter.
Unlike its Volkswagen sister brand, Ingolstadt-based Audi continued to record strong demand in the Chinese automotive market where it sold 57,000 vehicles in October. Nevertheless, a slump by more than half in European deliveries resulted in an overall monthly decline of 26 percent to 117,600 cars.
Weak Audi sales in Europe were attributed to the fact that many of its vehicles have not yet obtained approval from industry regulators under the new Worldwide harmonized Light vehicles Test Procedure (WLTP) for exhaust systems.
