Volkswagen Group sold 9.93 million vehicles in 2015

Volkswagen Group has announced that it sold 9.93 million cars in 2015, representing a two percent decrease in global sales from the year before.

The figures should ensure that Volkswagen ranks close to the top in world rankings, as the global car industry suffers the effects of dwindling demand from important markets such as China and South America.

Toyota and General Motors are due to release their results for 2015 later today, with industry insiders predicting that a similar decrease in sales will ensure that the top three best-selling manufacturers remains the same as it was in the third quarter of 2015. That means Volkswagen should by vying for the top spot with Toyota, while General Motors looks set to hold onto third place.

The overall market decrease follows the reduction of sales in markets that had previously represented significant growth. Volkswagen passenger cars sold 5,823,400 cars in 2015, representing a 4.8% decrease in global sales compared with 2014. The brand sold 2.63m cars in China and 458,200 in South America in 2015, comaprd with 2.76m and 662,600 respectively in 2014.

In the United States, Volkswagen sales grew from 586,700 to 592,100 in 2015, and the story was much the same in western Europe, where sales increased by 4.7% to 1.5 million.

At the top end of the market, Rolls-Royce felt the effects of sluggish demand in China as its sales decreased by 278 units, bringing the total for 2015 down to 3785 units. However, it still ranks as Rolls-Royce’s second-best year yet – last year's sales are nearly five times more than the car maker achieved a decade earlier – as sales increased by 2% in the UK, 7% in the US, 36% in India and a significant 73% in Korea.

Lamborghini announced that it sold 3245 units in 2015, the first time it has passed the 3000 mark and an increase of 715 additional sales compared with 2014. Chinese demand remained strong for Lamborghini, largely thanks to the Huracán, which achieved record numbers in the latter part of 2015.

We’ll update this story through the day as more figures are released - be sure to check back shortly.