Volkswagen has record January on strong China sales

Automaker Volkswagen says it had its best January sales on record, with a 10 percent jump over a year ago thanks to rebounds in Brazil and Russia on top of a continuing strong performance in China.

Volkswagen said Friday it sold 898,700 cars in the month, compared with 816,100 in January 2017.

Sales in China, the company's single biggest market, rose 16 percent to 398,600. The smaller Brazil market rose 45 percent and Russia was up 21 percent.

The Wolfsburg-based carmaker continues to move past its 2015 scandal over diesels rigged to cheat on emissions tests. The core Volkswagen brand saw a 7 percent global increase, while luxury division Audi sold 20 percent more cars. Other brands include Porsche, SEAT and Skoda as well as truck makers MAN and Scania.