VW reports lowest sales in 10 years in 2021 amid supply woes

• Volkswagen sales fell 8.1% to 4.9 million units, with the biggest drop in China at 14.8%

• BMW, on the other hand, made record deliveries of 2.21 million vehicles from the BMW brand

Volkswagen Group posted on Wednesday its lowest sales in 10 years in 2021 at 8.9 million deliveries due to supply chain constraints.

Luxury carmaker BMW, on the other hand, made record deliveries of 2.21 million vehicles from the BMW brand as the company was able to adapt to supply chain shortages.

Volkswagen sales fell 8.1% to 4.9 million units, with the biggest drop in China at 14.8%.

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"Under unusually challenging circumstances, Volkswagen reached a satisfying sales result," sales and marketing chief Klaus Zellmer said. 

"However, the huge effects of chips on production were not able to be fully compensated."

Daimler reported on Friday Mercedes-Benz sales fell 5% in 2021, falling behind BMW for the first time in five years for selling maximum vehicles among premium carmakers.

Global market

Europe was a weak marker for premium carmakers with BMW and Mini brands reporting growth of just 3.9% while a decrease of 11.25 for Mercedes-Benz.

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Mercedes-Benz reported 0.4% growth in the United States, while BMW and Volkswagen saw growth of 19.5% and 13% respectively in the region.

Hybrid or fully-electric vehicles performed well in Europe but still remained a small proportion of total global sales.

Picture Credits: Reuters