Volkswagen sells record 10.74 million vehicles in 2017

Volkswagen Group had record global sales of 10.74 million vehicles last year, but its bid to remain the world's largest car maker will not be fully determined until rivals Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi and Toyota reveal their full year results.

Volkswagen's sales rose 4.3 per cent from 10.30 million in 2016, when the company passed Japan's Toyota to become the globe's largest auto producer for that year.

The figures show the Wolfsburg-based company continuing its effort to move past a scandal that broke in September 2015 over cars it had rigged to cheat on diesel emissions tests.

Sales last year were boosted by a strong December, when sales rose 8.5 per cent. For the year, the company saw big jumps in Russia and Brazil, and significant gains in China and the United States.

Group deliveries in the Asia-Pacific region in 2017 rose by 4.3 per cent compared with the previous year to 4.5 million, of which 4.2 million new vehicles (+5.1 per cent) were delivered to customers in China during the twelve-month period. There was a strong boost in deliveries in the largest single market at the end of the year: 460,100 new vehicles were handed over to customers in China in December – an increase of 17.8 per cent.

"We are thankful for the trust of our customers," CEO Matthias Mueller said in a statement.

“The all-time record for deliveries is above all attributable to a strong team performance by all Group brands and employees."

Toyota estimated in December that it sold 10.35 million vehicles last year. Final figures are expected around the end of January or the beginning of February.

-Driven with additional reporting from AP