Volkswagen Posts Best May Since 1973

With new models like the Golf R, a recently released all-new Passat, a new Beetle, and others, Volkswagen of America  has reported a huge sales growth for the month of May, with 38,657 units sold. This translates to a 28.4 percent increase over prior year sales, 35.7 percent increase year-to-date and the best May since 1973.

“Selling over 38,000 vehicles this month is a significant accomplishment for Volkswagen,” said Jonathan Browning, President and CEO, Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. “We’re thrilled to see consumers embracing our strong lineup of fuel-efficient, high-quality vehicles and we expect our growth to continue.”

Going with the momentum, Volkswagen recently announced the production of the 100,000th Passat — the 2012 Motor Trend Car of the Year– out of it’s American Chattanooga, Tennessee plant. Sales of the Passat continue to rise with record sales of 10,178 units in May, the third month breaking 10,000 units.

There’s also the Jetta sedan, including the enthusiast GLI model, which remains the volume leader for Volkswagen with sales totaling 12,962, while Jetta SportWagen totaled 2,213. The Beetle continues to gain sales with 3,002 units sold, the best May since 2002, while the Golf and GTI sales totaled 3,878 units.

What’s more, Volkswagen continues to dominate the diesel car segment, with roughly 58% of all sales representing the brand in 2011, led by the Jetta TDI.

It’s easy to see why the Volkswagen Jetta TDI is so popular. For instance, the diesel variant of compact sedan affordably carries a starting MSRP of $22,775 in America, and consumes minimal fuel. Official numbers put the Jetta TDI with a six-speed manual transmission at 30 mpg in the city and 42 mpg on the highway. Impressively, the engine is no slouch with 236 lbs/ft of torque @ 1,750–2,500 RPM. Who needs to worry about expensive hybrid technology when a diesel engine can be both super efficient and fun to drive?