BERLIN (AP) -- German car maker Volkswagen AG said Monday that its worldwide sales were down 4.7 percent for April as the global economic downturn kept consumers from buying new cars.
The Wolfsburg, Germany-based company, Europe's largest automaker by sales, said it sold 541,600 vehicles worldwide last month compared with 568,100 a year earlier.
The company's flagship VW brand showed the strongest sales, with 339,500 vehicles at home and abroad, as compared with 335,100 in the same time of 2008 -- a light improvement of 1.3 percent.
Other strong sellers were models from Audi, Seat and Skoda.
Volkswagen shares were up more than half a percent to euro221.70 ($299.69) in Frankfurt trading.