In spite of Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles (VWCV) shipping 11,500 fewer vehicles to global customers from its factories in 2021, the Australian arm of the company saw sales increase to 12,500 units, up from 10,000 sold in 2020.
Globally, VWCV shipped 359,500 vehicles in 2021, down from 371,000 units in 2020, blaming the drop on the difficult economic situation caused by the coronavirus pandemic and the shortage of semiconductor products.
The Asia Pacific region bucked the trend and grew in 2021 by 10.7% to 17,500 vehicles delivered to customers. Australia remains the strongest single market in this region says VWCV.
VWCV says its sales fell in the significant markets of Eastern and Western Europe, as well as Brazil and Mexico. However it saw increased sales in Argentina, South Africa and the Middle East.
VWCV says current customer demand is up by nearly 20% compared to the year before, particularly for the Transporter (T-series) and Crafter commercial vehicles.
“We are seeing very high, growing demand for our vehicles”, says Lars Krause, Brand Board of Management Member for Sales and Marketing at Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles.
“Last year alone orders received went up nearly 20% compared to the year before. Our main task for the coming months is therefore to continue during this tough production situation to work through fulfilling our orders.”
The T series remains VWCV’s flagship line: the number of T series units shipped in the past year rose by 14.8% to a total of 166,400 vehicles. Demand in 2021 was high for the California 6.1, with units shipped rising by 20.2% to 19,300.
Last year also saw the unveiling of the seventh generation of the Multivan, which was supplied to dealers in the fourth quarter. Based on the Volkswagen Group’s modular electric drive matrix, the it is being offered for the first time as a plug-in hybrid version as well. By the end of the 2021, there were already 13,500 orders on the books.
But the new Caddy was hard hit last year by the challenging situation on the semiconductor market. The number of vans shipped consequently fell by 24.5 per cent to 85,200 units. However, orders received for the new Caddy saw a 21.3% year-on-year rise.
The Amarok, which is now only being made in Argentina and was no longer being sold in Europe in 2021, accordingly fell back to 45,400 units supplied to customers (previous year 52,100).
The total of Crafter units shipped last year was 62,300 (previous year 61,700). Within that the share of all-electric eCrafter vehicles rose to 1,500 units (+ 29.4%).
The number of electrified commercial vehicles supplied to customers went up again in 2021: while in 2020 it was 2,700, the figure rose last year by 35.1% to 3,600. With the world première of the ID. Buzz in March 2022, VWCV says it will be taking another systematic step forward on the path to electric mobility.
There was continued high demand for VWCV’s leisure vehicles: the California versions of the T6.1, Crafter and Caddy saw more than 23,300 units delivered to customers in 2021, achieving growth of 28%.
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