Volkswagen to defend global sales crown despite $21 billion diesel scam hit

Volkswagen AG’s global deliveries rose to a fresh record last year as robust customer demand largely countered the dramatic financial fallout from the German manufacturer’s diesel-emissions crisis and most likely kept the German manufacturer ahead of Japanese rival Toyota Motor Corp.

Worldwide sales of the group’s cars, trucks and buses jumped 4.3 per cent to 10.7 million vehicles in 2017, VW said Wednesday in an emailed statement.

“We are grateful to our customers for their trust,” Chief Executive Officer Matthias Mueller said in the statement. "We will continue to do everything we can in 2018 to meet and exceed the