Volkswagen, Europe's biggest car maker, has reported record results for 2009 despite a difficult year for the automobile industry, as it pursues Japanese rival Toyota for the title of world number one.

Volkswagen said it sold 6.29 million vehicles, an increase of 1.1 percent from the 2008 figure, and won 11.4 percent of the global market, up from 10.3 percent a year earlier.

The global car market shrank by more than 6 percent, the group said in a statement. It added that 2010 market share have to be even stronger, as it works to overtake Toyota by 2018 as the biggest car maker all over the world. Toyota has not yet posted results for 2009.

Volkswagen vice president Mr. Christian Klingler was quoted as warning, however, that 2010 would be 'another challenging year', with no signs of a sustained recovery. However he said China as well as Brazil would show an upward trend.

Amongst the German group's 10 brands, the Volkswagen nameplate reported a 7.8 percent increase to 3.95 million vehicles last year, while its high-end unit Audi posted a drop of 5.4 percent to 949,700. Volkswagen benefited from car scrapping premiums worldwide in 2009, as buyers focused on smaller, less expensive cars to make the most of state-subsidized windfalls.

In China, now Volkswagen's biggest market, sales soared by 36.7 percent to 1.4 million units.

Labels: Volkswagen increases sales and market share