Vehicle manufacturer Volkswagen (VW) has announced a record performance in its results from the start of the year to the end of May.

The company witnessed an annual 6.3 per cent increase in model sales from January to May this year, with 4.11 million vehicles purchased by customers across the globe.

May in particular was also an extremely positive period for the manufacturer, with 864,600 vehicles sold (up 5.9 per cent on the same month last year).

Across the company's myriad divisions, a positive trend for growth has been witnessed this year, with a 4.4 per cent increase in sales for the VW Passenger Cars brand, while VW-owned Audi saw an 11.5 per cent rise in deliveries.

Meanwhile, Porsche sales were up by 6.3 per cent for the January to May period, Skoda sales rose by 13.5 per cent and Seat witnessed an 8.9 per cent increase in customer activity.

The only division to have seen decline in the year to date is that of VW Commercial Vehicles (down 3.3 per cent). However, in the firm's home market of Germany, this area of the business actually witnessed an improved performance for the year so far.

Across the globe, VW saw a 7.6 per cent increase in sales in the European market and 16 per cent growth in the Asia-Pacific region.

Other parts of the world did not fare so well for the brand though, with a 2.7 per cent downturn in North America – including a 4.6 per cent loss in the US – and a significant 21.1 per cent reduction in sales volumes for South America.

Responding to the results, VW Group board member for sales Christian Klingler commented: "[This] is an encouraging development, particularly in view of the mixed performance on world markets.

"Even though our group and its brands are in an excellent position to respond to the different trends in the world regions, market demands still remain challenging."

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