Enlarge image A Volkswagen drives in front of the Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee. (© picture alliance / dpa) The car manufacturer Volkswagen has made up for its poor performance in crisis-stricken Europe with strong revenue increases in the US and China. Worldwide sales rose around nine percent in the first six months of 2012 to a record 4.45 million units. Growth in June was 11 percent, Europe’s largest car manufacturer announced on Friday in Wolfsburg. 

“This is definitely not an occasion for euphoria. The economic situation in Western Europe, in particular, remains tense and difficult,” Sales Director Christian Klingler said on worldwide delivery figures. 

Turnover in Western Europe, excluding Germany, fell in the first six months of 2012 by almost 6 percent to 1.01 million cars. However, sales rose by 27 percent to 322,900 units sold in Eastern Europe. Volkswagen’s home market of Germany saw an increase of 4.4 percent in total sales. 

China, the largest single market, provided solid growth of 17.5 percent to 1.3 million units once again. In the US, the company grew over 30 percent to 275,200 cars. South America reported a growth of 3 percent to 469,500 vehicles. 

Parent company Volkswagen owns a number of subsidiary brands, including Audi, Seat and Skoda. The Volkswagen brand itself reported above-average growth of 10 percent with 2.79 million units. Audi performed even better, with growth of over 12 percent to 733,000 units. The problem-plagued Spanish subsidiary Seat, on the other hand, lost over 12 percent in selling 163,000 cars. Skoda grew at a rate slightly less than the company average. Utility vehicles across all brands also underperformed.