Volkswagen of America, Inc. today reported 36,588 units sold in March, a 34.6 percent increase over prior year sales and best March since 1973.
"March's strong sales of 36,588 units highlights a robust first quarter for 2012 for Volkswagen and we are poised for continued growth this calendar year," said Jonathan Browning, President and CEO, Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. "Two years ago, we sold 10,168 Passat sedans for the year, and now we've broken the 10,000 barrier for the month! The new Passat has become a true success story, and it's having a great impact across our company here in the US."
The company announced in March that it will add an additional 800 jobs at its Chattanooga manufacturing facility to meet the demand for the Passat, bringing the total employment increase in 2012 to 1000.
On the heels of taking first place in a six-car comparison test in Car and Driver Magazine, the Passat achieved 10,032 sales in March, marking the first time ever this volume has been achieved. In Car and Driver's midsize sedan comparison test, the 2012 Passat 2.5 SE beat out the Honda Accord, Toyota Camry, Chevrolet Malibu, Hyundai Sonata and Kia Optima.
Jetta sedan, including the enthusiast GLI model, remains the volume leader for Volkswagen with sales totaling 12,947, while Jetta SportWagen totaled 2,019.
The 2012 Beetle sold 1,969 units. The Beetle TDI Clean Diesel Coupe will go on sale late summer 2012.
The Tiguan continued strong sales with 2,659 units sold, marking the best March ever. The Touareg vehicles saw an increase in sales with 53.9 percent with 748 units sold.