Volkswagen has said that its passenger cars brand chalked up worldwide deliveries up 4.8% to 515,700 units in January.

“For the first time in its history Volkswagen Passenger Cars has started the year with deliveries in excess of half a million,” said Christian Klingler, Board Member for Sales and Marketing for the Volkswagen Group and the Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand.

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VW said that the sales situation in Europe regained momentum in January. While the overall market grew by some 3%, deliveries by Volkswagen in the first month of the year grew 7.9% to 126,200 (116,900) units. In Western Europe (excluding Germany) 66,100 (60,600) vehicles were handed over, an increase of 9.1% compared with January 2013, while 41,400 (38,100) vehicles were delivered in Germany, a rise of 8.8%. In the Central and Eastern Europe region, 18,600 (18,200; 1.8%) customers took possession of a new Volkswagen, of which 8,600 (10,000; -13.7%) units were delivered in Russia.

The brand recorded a further 13.7% rise in deliveries in the Asia-Pacific region in January, handing over 285,300 vehicles. Some 267,800 cars (235,000; 13.9%) were delivered in China (including Hong Kong). In India, Volkswagen Passenger Cars delivered 3,400 (4,600; -26.6%) units in January.

However, VW was down in North America. In the North America region, Volkswagen Passenger Cars handed over 39,200 cars (43,800; -10.6%) vehicles to customers, of which 23,500 (29,000; -19.0%) were delivered in the US.