Volkswagen has announced record results for 2011. The group, which includes the Škoda, Seat, Volkswagen, Audi and Crewe-based Bentley brands as well as truckmakers Scania and MAN, recorded 14.7% to a record 8.3 million vehicle deliveries in 2011.

Car deliveries totalled 5.1m, while Volkswagen delivered 529,000 vans globally, up 21.4% on last year’s figure of 436,000.

Vans generated more profit for the Group, too, with Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles‘ operating profit rising by €217 million to €449 million (2010: €232 million). VW says that this was due to higher sales and lower materials costs.

As I have reported recently, UK truck sales have been strong over the last year and VW reports that its Swedish truck manufacturer, Scania, increased deliveries by 25.7 per cent to 80,100 trucks and buses in 2011. Truckmaker MAN, in which VW has a 57.33% stake, delivered 24,750 trucks and buses in the period from November to December 2011.