Volkswagen saw first-quarter deliveries grow 24.6% to 1.73 million vehicles.

“There are clear signs of a revival on the overall passenger car market in many parts of the world. Thanks to our innovative, young and environmentally-friendly models we are benefiting quite significantly from this trend,” said Christian Klingler, group board member for sales.

However, echoing yesterday's comments from the PSA Group, Klinger also warned of a tough remainder of the year.

“Nevertheless, we still expect this to be a tough year. We believe that differentiated growth in the various regions of the world is likely to continue over the coming months," said Klinger.

"However, the positive trend so far strengthens our optimism about developing better than the market."

The Volkswagen Group reported a marked rise in deliveries in China, achieving a new record for first-quarter sales of 457,300 (284,200; +60.9%) vehicles.

Growth in the Asia- Pacific region was 58.9%. 1

While it sold 69,900 (157,200; +8.1%) units on the Brazilian market.

A rise of 13.4% was reported for the whole South America region.

In the USA, the Group delivered 80,000 (58,300) vehicles in the first three months, a rise of 37.2%. The Jetta and Audi Q5 proving popular.

The Group brands sold 837,100 (737,700) vehicles on the overall European market in the first quarter, an increase of 13.5%

In Western Europe, growth ran at 16.8% with 753,600 (645,300) units delivered.