Volkswagen of America Announces February Sales

HERNDON, Va., March 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Volkswagen of America, Inc. today reported February 2010 sales of 18,116 total units, representing a 32.6 percent increase over February 2009.  With 2010 year-to-date sales of 36,135 total units, up 36.9 percent over the same period of 2009, the Volkswagen brand continued its strong start for 2010.

The practical Tiguan, which continues to gain greater market acceptance, showed an 18.6 percent month-over-month growth in sales during February, and with total Tiguan sales of 1,690 units it represented a 94 percent jump versus the same period in 2009.   With more consumers placing greater emphasis on efficiency and sustainability, Volkswagen's line of clean diesel TDI models continued to perform extremely well.

Volkswagen's sixth generation GTI, honored as Automobile Magazine's 2010 Automobile of the Year, posted its best sales month since August of 2008 with sales of 1,278 units. The Passat sedan and wagon also enjoyed strong February sales, with 1,627 total units, representing their highest month of sales since December of 2008 and August of 2009 respectively.

"February marks Volkswagen's eighth consecutive month of sales growth, which can be attributed to our brand's full range of 13 different models," said Mark Barnes, Chief Operating Officer, Volkswagen of America, Inc. "Our newer models such as Tiguan, Routan, CC, and all-new GTI continue to gain awareness and consideration with consumers.  Our no-charge Carefree Maintenance Program, which provides full vehicle maintenance coverage for the first three years or 36,000 miles of the vehicle's lifespan, is also resonating well with consumers and helping drive showroom traffic."

Volkswagen of America, Inc.

Founded in 1955, Volkswagen of America, Inc. is headquartered in Herndon, Virginia.  It is a subsidiary of Volkswagen AG, headquartered in Wolfsburg, Germany.  Volkswagen is one of the world's largest producers of passenger cars and Europe's largest automaker.  Volkswagen sells the Eos, Golf, New Beetle, New Beetle convertible, GTI, Jetta, Jetta SportWagen, Passat, Passat wagon, CC, Tiguan, Touareg and Routan through approximately 600 independent U.S. dealers.  All 2010 Volkswagens come standard-equipped with Electronic Stabilization Program.  This is important because the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has called ESC the most effective new vehicle safety technology since the safety belt. Visit Volkswagen of

America online at www.vw.com or www.media.vw.com to learn more.

    
    
    VW-US Snapshot                             ---------YEAR TO-DATE ---------
    
                   February- February- Yr/Yr % February-10 February-09 Yr/Yr %
                   10 Actual 09 Actual change  YTD Actual  YTD Actual  change
                   --------- --------- ------  ----------  ----------  ------
    Rabbit/Golf       810       666     21.6%     1,422      1,489      -4.5%
    GTI A5/A6       1,278       479    166.8%     2,211      1,021     116.6%
    R32                (1)       85   -101.2%        (1)       120    -100.8%
                      ---       ---                 ---        ---
      Total Rabbit/
       Golf/GTI/R32 2,087     1,230     69.7%     3,632      2,630      38.1%
    Jetta Sdn       6,430     5,199     23.7%    13,999     10,484      33.5%
          SportWagen
            A5/A6   1,398       784     78.3%     2,722      1,737      56.7%
                    -----       ---                          -----
          Total    
           Jetta    7,828     5,983     30.8%    16,721     12,221      36.8%
     New Beetle
      - Coupe       1,430       899     59.1%     3,373      1,472     129.1%
      - Convertible   311       374    -16.8%       535        595     -10.1%
                      ---       ---                            ---
      Total New 
       Beetle       1,741     1,273     36.8%     3,908      2,067      89.1%
    Eos               355       510    -30.4%       680        879     -22.6%
    Passat Sdn      1,383       761     81.7%     1,967      1,701      15.6%
           Wgn        244       211     15.6%       416        403       3.2%
                      ---       ---                            ---
      Total Passat  1,627       972     67.4%     2,383      2,104      13.3%
    CC              1,383     1,808    -23.5%     3,274      2,880      13.7%
    Tiguan          1,690       871     94.0%     3,114      1,633      90.7%
    Touareg           285       510    -44.1%       599        824     -27.3%
    Routan          1,120       503    122.7%     1,824      1,166      56.4%
    
    TOTAL          18,116    13,660     32.6%    36,135     26,404      36.9%
                   ------    ------     ----     ------     ------      ----

SOURCE Volkswagen of America, Inc.