BERLIN (AP) -- Worldwide deliveries of Volkswagen brand cars were down by 1.5 percent in July amid a wider decline in global markets, the company said Thursday.
Volkswagen AG said its core VW brand delivered 305,000 vehicles last month. It said the fall from last July was a "result of the general market decline."
Over the first seven months of 2008, the company said 2.21 million VW vehicles were delivered -- an increase of 4.7 percent over the same period last year.
Wolfsburg-based Volkswagen said in a statement that it saw healthy growth in its three biggest markets over the January-July period. VW delivered 501,250 cars in China, a 12.9 percent rise, and 314,500 in Brazil, an increase of 20.4 percent.
It said that put Brazil ahead of Germany for the first time. VW delivered 312,600 cars in Germany -- a 6.2 percent increase.
