The biggest European automaker, Volkswagen, has announced that it sold 665,600 vehicles worldwide in July, an annualised gain of 16.3 per cent to which all regions contributed.

In the seven months from January through July, VW, which aims to become the world’s biggest car-maker by 2018, delivered 4.75 million cars and trucks, an increase of 14.4 per cent from the same period a year earlier, a statement said.

“The sales teams for all brands have grown deliveries all over the world,” sales director Christian Klingler was quoted as saying.

In China, VW’s biggest single market, seven-month sales were 16.4 per cent higher at 1.29 million vehicles, while India posted a leap of 194.5 per cent to 21,300 deliveries.

Sale growth was also particularly strong in central and eastern Europe, with a rise of 28.7 percent, and in North America, which gained 20.5 per cent.

A seven-month breakdown by brands showed VW car sales up by 12.5 per cent at 2.95 million vehicles, followed by its high-end Audi brand, which posted a gain of 17.4 per cent to 758,900 cars.