Frankfurt: German carmaker Volkswagen AG said Thursday the company’s sales fell 15% during the first two months of the year and that 2009 sales and profits won’t match record levels in 2008.
The Wolfsburg-based company, Europe’s largest carmaker by sales, reported record sales and profits for 2008 earlier this month. But it said the global economic crisis wouldn’t pass it by, and that it wouldn’t be able to match last year’s results in 2009.
Volkswagen said earlier this month that its 2008 net profit rose 15.4% on record deliveries to €4.8 billion ($6.4 billion) from €4.1 billion in 2007. Sales were 4.5% higher, climbing to €114 billion from €109 billion.
The company said despite the weak euro the first two months of this year, the company is poised to release 20 new models by 2010, which should spark sales.
The company’s brands include Volkswagen, Audi, Seat, Skoda and Bentley.