The decline in sales of German carmaker Volkswagen accelerated further in the third quarter, with global vehicle deliveries falling 14.3% compared with the same period last year, it said on Monday.
Europe's largest carmaker delivered around 1.89 million vehicles across all its brands worldwide between July and September. The decline followed an 8.6% drop in the second quarter and a 4% fall in the first three months of the year.
The downturn was particularly steep in China, where deliveries plunged 38.5% year-over-year to just under 406,000 vehicles.
Growth in Europe and South America failed to offset the slump in China, where Volkswagen faces a shrinking overall market, intense price pressure and growing competition from domestic manufacturers.
In the first nine months of the year, Volkswagen delivered just over 6 million vehicles worldwide, down 9% or around 600,000 vehicles compared with the same period last year.
Deliveries in China fell 30.2% during the nine-month period to 1.38 million vehicles.
Audi sales chief Martin Sander, who also oversees sales for the Volkswagen Group, said the sharp contraction in China's overall car market remained a challenge for the industry.
However, he pointed to growing demand for Volkswagen's locally developed electric models, with deliveries of electrified vehicles in China rising around 30% in the third quarter compared with a year earlier.
In Europe, demand for fully electric vehicles continued to strengthen, driven by high fuel prices and a wider range of affordable models, Sander said.
Volkswagen has received nearly 150,000 orders for its new ID. Polo and related models, including the VW ID. Cross, Skoda Epiq and Cupra Raval.
Fully electric vehicles accounted for one in five Volkswagen Group deliveries in Europe during the first nine months of the year, with more than 586,000 sold out of a total of around 2.96 million vehicles.
Orders for electric vehicles in Europe rose by more than 50% in the third quarter, with electric models accounting for around 40% of the order backlog.
Globally, however, deliveries of fully electric vehicles fell 4.7% in the third quarter to just over 240,000. Sales dropped 30.1% in China and 86.4% in the U.S.
Across the group's brands, Volkswagen passenger car deliveries fell 19.3% to more than 946,000 vehicles in the third quarter, while Audi recorded a 19.7% decline to nearly 315,000.
Porsche deliveries dropped 15% to just over 56,000 vehicles, while Skoda remained broadly stable at 256,700.
Commercial vehicle subsidiary Traton, which includes Scania and MAN, bucked the trend with a 10.5% increase in deliveries to around 78,900 vehicles.
