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Total deliveries to customers worldwide were down 22.4% in the second quarter of the year, with Central and Eastern Europe, which included Russia, hardest hit with a drop of 49.3%.
Western Europe also saw a considerable fall of 25.7%, while China and the Americas saw a more moderate drop of around 16-18%.
Even as total sales fell, battery-electric vehicle (BEV) deliveries increased by just over a quarter to 217,100, making up 5.6% of total sales – bolstered largely by significant growth in China.
While Europe, traditionally Volkswagen (ETR:VOWG_p)’s strongest battery-electric market, saw a 16.5% drop in BEV sales in the second quarter, sales more than doubled in China, where the carmaker has long lagged local competitors and Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA).
In the first half of the year, Volkswagen’s China BEV sales saw a more than three-fold increase from last year to 63,500 units.
Speaking to journalists earlier on Wednesday, Volkswagen’s China chief said it “looks promising” for sales of its ID electric vehicles to more than double this year in the country as the German carmaker ramps up electrification efforts to retain the top position in its biggest market.
The ID.4 far outsold other battery-electric models globally at 66,800 units sold, followed by 26,000 ID.3 vehicles and 24,700 Audi e-tron cars.
Data released by Europe’s automobile association earlier on Wednesday showed the region registered the lowest number of new passenger cars in the month of June since 1996 as supply chain bottlenecks, inflation and coronavirus cases continue to plague the industry.
