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Volkswagen sales hit record amid China boom

German auto giant Volkswagen said on Friday that it made record sales of more than four million vehicles in the first half of the year, helped by booming sales to China – and it expected to do better than the market overall in the second half.

Volkswagen sales hit record amid China boom
Photo: DPA

VW, the biggest European carmaker, said that global group sales from January to the end of June gained 14.1 percent from the same period in 2010 to 4.09 million units, beating the overall sector increase of 6.1 percent.

“We are also confident we can perform better than the global automobile market during the second half of the year, thanks to our very convincing range of models,” sales director Christian Klingler said in a statement.

In addition to the VW brand, the group owns automakers like Audi, Bentley, Lamborghini, Seat and Skoda.

In China alone, now the group’s most important growth market, the VW group sold more than 1.1 million vehicles since the start of January, a jump of 16.4 percent.

The group’s China boss Karl-Thomas Neumann has set his sights on breaking the 2 million barrier for the year, though industry experts believe demand for cars may cool.

A breakdown of the figures showed that in North America, VW group sales grew by 21.2 percent to 319,100 vehicles, while South American sales were 10.9 percent higher at 455,200 vehicles.

In the Asia/Pacific region overall, 1.26 million cars were sold for a gain of 19.5 percent on the year.

Earlier this week, VW chief executive Martin Winterkorn announced that sales of VW-brand vehicles alone rose 11.8 percent to a record 2.5 million for the first half of 2011. Globally, sales of VW brand autos remained predominant, followed by the high-end Audi brand, which reported deliveries of 653,000 vehicles.

Growth of VW sales was especially strong in central and eastern Europe, while Audi saw the most growth in South America and the Asia/Pacific region.

AFP/DPA/The Local/djw

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GREENPEACE

Two hospitalized in Munich after activist crashes parachute into Euro 2020 stadium

At least two people were hospitalised Tuesday after a Greenpeace activist crash-landed on the pitch before the Germany-France match at Euro 2020 when his powered parachute microlight struck spidercam cables at Munich's Allianz Arena.

Two hospitalized in Munich after activist crashes parachute into Euro 2020 stadium
The activist lands on the turf of the Allianz Arena. credit: dpa | Christian Charisius

The pilot flew over the pitch just before kick-off in the Group F clash with “Kick out oil” written on the canopy of his parachute.

However, when the pilot hit television cables above the pitch, it knocked his microlight off balance and he landed on the turf after clipping one of the stands, where the casualties happened.

The activist was arrested soon after landing.

A Munich police spokesman told AFP that at least two people suffered head injuries and “both had to be taken to hospital, we don’t know yet how serious the injuries are”.

The police spokesman said the activist appears to have escaped injury, but “we are considering various criminal charges. Munich police has zero understanding for political actions that put lives at risk”.

UEFA also slammed the botched stunt.

“This inconsiderate act – which could have had very serious consequences for a huge number of people attending – caused injuries to several people attending the game who are now in hospital and law authorities will take the necessary action,” European football’s governing body said in a statement.

The parachutist above the stadium. Photo: dpa | Matthias Balk

“The staging of the match was fortunately not impacted by such a reckless and dangerous action, but several people were injured nonetheless.”

The stunt was a protest against German car manufacturer Volkswagen, one of the sponsors of the European Championship, Greenpeace explained in a Twitter post.

“UEFA and its partners are fully committed to a sustainable Euro 2020 tournament and many initiatives have been implemented to offset carbon emissions,” said UEFA.

Greenpeace said they regretted any harm caused.

“This protest was never intended to disrupt the game or hurt people,” read a Twitter post on Greenpeace’s official German account.

“We hope that everyone is OK and that no one was seriously injured. Greenpeace actions are always peaceful and non-violent.”

“Unfortunately, not everything went according to plan.”

READ MORE: Climate activists rage as Germany opts for drawn-out coal exit

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