Volkswagen Seeks Record Sales

(Bloomberg) -- Volkswagen AG, Europe’s largest automaker, is targeting a second consecutive record in global deliveries this year after two-month sales jumped 27 percent, helped by Chinese and Brazilian markets’ expansion.

Sales at VW’s seven car brands plus its van division, including the Audi luxury unit, totaled 1.02 million vehicles in January and February, with the increase outpacing a 20 percent expansion in the global market, the company said.

“We have no intention of slowing down in 2010,” Chief Executive Officer Martin Winterkorn said at a news conference at VW’s headquarters in Wolfsburg, Germany.

Volkswagen, which has a goal of overtaking Toyota Motor Corp. in deliveries and profitability by 2018, is targeting earnings and sales growth in 2010, with deliveries surpassing last year’s 6.29 million cars and sport-utility vehicles. The company said today that it will seek shareholders’ approval in April to raise as much as 5 billion euros ($6.8 billion) in the sale of convertible bonds.

VW’s preferred shares rose as much as 2.85 euros, or 4.5 percent, to 66.60 euros in the biggest intraday gain since Feb. 17, and were up 3.6 percent as of 1:09 p.m. in Frankfurt trading, valuing the carmaker at 28.3 billion euros.

Porsche Combination

The company is combining with Stuttgart, Germany-based Porsche SE, the maker of the 911 sports car. Investors agreed in December to allow Volkswagen over the next five years to sell 135 million preferred shares, which carry no voting rights, to help finance the transaction.