Volkswagen has overtaken Ford on global vehicle sales, relegating the American company to fourth spot in the global automakers’ sales chart.
According to the latest sales figures, VW Group delivered 3.31 million vehicles in the first half of the year, with Ford delivering 3.22 million.
“This shows we are on the right track with our ever-stronger international presence and, above all, our product program,” said Martin Winterkorn, Chairman of the VW Group management board, “we will systematically push ahead with our growth course even in the present difficult market environment.”
The results will make gloomy reading for Ford executives, and give further proof of the tough trading conditions the company is facing in the USA, it’s biggest market. Ford was the world’s second-largest carmaker as recently as 2004, before being overtaken by Toyota.
And despite announcing a cut in production today, Toyota is still on course to become the world’s largest car manufacturer at the end of this year, having outsold General Motors by 280,000 units globally during the first six months of 2008. (Thanks to Autocar for News and Pictures).
