Volkswagen sees lowest auto sales in 10 years in 2021

Volkswagen sees its lowest sales figures in 10 years in 2021 at 8.9 million deliveries, the automaker said last week.

The automaker added it expected supply chain conditions to remain volatile in the first half of 2022.

The Volkswagen brand observed an 8.1% drop in sales to just under 4.9 million units, with the biggest decline in China at 14.8%.

Nevertheless, the battery-electric vehicle sales in China from Volkswagen quadrupled.

“Under unusually challenging circumstances, the automaker 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 wholly compensated.”

Volkswagen Group’s battery-electric vehicles constituted 5.1% of deliveries in 2021 – double 2020’s figure.