BERLIN (Reuters) -- Sales at Volkswagen's core division fell by 5.9 percent in May to 499,500 as slowing momentum in China and declines in South America outweighed gains in Europe.
The drop in May was the seventh decline in vehicle sales at VW brand in eight months. Sales have slid every month since October, except for February when they were flat.
Adjusted for selling days, last month's decline was in line with the 4.8 percent drop seen in April, which was the largest decline in several years, a VW spokesman said.
VW brand accounts for 60 percent of VW group sales.
Through May, VW brand volume fell 3 percent to 2.48 million vehicles, VW said in a statement on Wednesday.
In China, VW's biggest single market, sales slid 3.7 percent to 1.12 million in the first five months, while South American deliveries fell 22 percent to 207,700. In Brazil, the largest market in the region, sales plunged 28 percent to 155,700.
In Western Europe, excluding Germany, sales were up 6.4 percent to 396,200, while Russian deliveries fell 47 percent to 29,800. German sales jumped 6.2 percent to 249,000.
U.S. volume was down 4.2 percent to 144,000 through May.
VW Group is drawing up a new company structure to help raise profitability and tackle underperformance abroad. It is due to publish group-wide deliveries for May on Friday.
Automotive News Europe contributed to this report
