Global Sales of VW-Brand Cars Climb 16%

Volkswagen AG reports it sold 501,300 cars worldwide under its namesake brand in October compared with 430,900 units a year earlier, despite stagnant demand in Europe at 140,000 units.

The VW brand's October volume jumped 17% to 73,400 vehicles in Latin America, 21% to 52,000 units in North America and 17% to 14,200 units in Russia. Demand grew 19% to 190,000 vehicles in China.

From January through October, the marque's global sales rose 11% to 4.72 million vehicles.