VW Brand Sales Jump 12% in July

Sales by Volkswagen AG's namesake car marque climbed to 468,300 vehicles last month from 418,600 units in July 2011 despite western Europe's depressed auto market.

The company did not report July sales by country or region.

From January through July, VW brand sales of passenger cars rose 10% year on year to 3.26 million vehicles. The advance was propelled by gains in China (+15% to 1.27 million units), the U.S. (34% to 245,700 units) and Russia (69% to 95,600 units).

Demand across Europe increased 3% to 1.05 million vehicles, thanks to increases in central and eastern Europe (+41% to 157,100 units) and Germany (3% to 361,400 units). Sales in the rest of western Europe fell 5% to 528,200 vehicles.