Volkswagen AG said its global sales saw its best May performance on record, buoyed by strong growth in South America and new vehicles' popularity.
Global sales climbed 5.1% to 539,700 vehicles in May from the year-ago period. Sales in the five months to May rose 6.7% to 2,584,700 vehicles.
"This was the best individual month of May in the history of the Volkswagen brand. We have continued our upward trend and are significantly above the prior year figure after five months," said Jürgen Stackmann, Volkswagen board member for sales.
May sales in Germany rose 3.4% year over year to 52,500 vehicles, driven by the popularity of models T-Roc, Tiguan Allspace and Arteon.
Asia-Pacific sales, mostly from China, was up an annual 4.8% to 266,900 vehicles in May.
U.S. sales during the month grew 4.0% year over year to 31,200 vehicles, supported by demand for SUVs, although sales in the broader North America market shrank 2.8% to 49,200 vehicles.
Sales also surged Russia and Brazil by 26.8% and 30.4%, respectively, in May from the year-ago period. The monthly upturn in Brazil lifted sales in South America by 20.3% to 42,100 vehicles.
In the January-May period, sales in Europe, Asia-Pacific and South America grew by an annual 7.4%, 7.4% and 11.2%, respectively, while North America sales inched up 0.1%.
