Members of the Volkswagen Ireland sales and marketing team traveled to Bordeaux, France earlier this month to collect an award for being the number one car brand in their market. The Volkswagen Number 1 awards recognised five Volkswagen teams from Europe, each of which is at the top of their game and achieved the number one market position in 2012.

Pictured at the Volkswagen Number 1 awards in Bordeaux last week are (from left to right): Mr. Christian Klingler, Member of the Board of Management, Volkswagen AG Group;  Paul  O’Sullivan, Head of Marketing, Volkswagen Passenger Cars Ireland; Simon Elliott, Managing Director, Volkswagen Group Ireland; Paul Burke, Operations Director, Volkswagen Passenger Cars; Paul Hunt, Head of Product & Planning, Volkswagen Passenger Cars; Xavier Chardon, Head of Sales Europe, Volkswagen AG.

The award ceremony, which was celebrated in the Château Pape Clément, Pessac, recognised the work of Volkswagen teams in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Ireland and Spain.  Awards were presented by Mr. Christian Klingler, Member of the Board of Management, Volkswagen AG Group, Sales and Marketing and Xavier Chardon, Head of Sales Europe.

Commenting on the award, Volkswagen Operations Director Paul Burke said: “We are very proud of our status as the number one passenger car brand in Ireland and we are delighted to receive the recognition of our peers in other markets”.

Volkswagen was the best-selling car brand in Ireland in 2012, the first time that the brand achieved this in its history in Ireland. According to figures from the Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI) Volkswagen registered 10,073 new cars in 2012 (12.67% market share).

The Volkswagen Number 1 event was the first year of what will now become an annual event.