Volkswagen’s Slovak unit increases production 45% on SUV demand

The Slovak unit of Volkswagen AG increased car production 45 percent in the first six months from a year ago, driven by rising demand for sport-utility vehicles.

Volkswagen Slovakia assembled 94,600 vehicles from January to June, the company said in an e-mailed statement from Bratislava, Slovakia, today. Sales jumped 33 percent to 2.4 billion euros ($3.5 billion).

The German-based carmaker assembles Touareg and Audi-brand Q7 SUVs as well as bodies for Porsche Cayenne at its Bratislava factory.

Production in the second half of this year will be “positively influenced” by the start of serial assembly of the so-called New Small Family compact cars, the company said.