Volkswagen Group said sales of its brands rose 4 percent year on year to 328,000 vehicles in China last month but the German automaker failed to keep pace with industry sales.

 

Industry sales of light vehicles in China rose 9.8 percent in March.

 

Over the first three months, Volkswagen deliveries in China increased 6.4 percent to 955,500 cars and light trucks. Over the same period, rival General Motors and its Chinese joint ventures sold 963,652 vehicles.

 

Volkswagen's brands each posted higher volume in March. Audi sales rose 5.4 percent; Skoda deliveries edged up 1.3 percent; and Volkswagen-brand sales increased 3.6 percent.

 

In the first three months, Porsche sales jumped 24 percent. The German sports car brand did not separately report March results in China.

 

Despite lukewarm results in recent months, Volkswagen Group remains committed to long-term expansion plans in China. Earlier this month, VW signed an agreement with partner SAIC Motor Corp. to invest 2 billion euros (14.6 billion yuan) over the next five years to expand the product lineup of Skoda -- VW's value brand -- in China.

 

The partners' joint venture, SAIC Volkswagen Automotive Co., will use the funds to develop electric cars, provide connectivity to the Web and design new models for the Chinese market.

 

The partners, in a statement, said that by 2020 they aim to double Skoda's China sales, which totaled 281,700 vehicles last year.