Net profit rose to (EURO)3.19 billion ($4.2 billion) from (EURO)1.71 billion in the same period the year before, the company said Thursday. Earnings were boosted by a much bigger profit on financial items that reflected the revaluing of share options related to the company’s attempt to fully integrate sports car maker Porsche and its hedging against currency fluctuations.

The company’s operating earnings — which exclude such financial complexities — rose 10 percent to (EURO)3.2 billion, ahead of market analysts’ expectations for (EURO)2.6 billion. Revenues were up 26 percent to (EURO)47.33 billion on the year.

Volkswagen’s luxury brand Audi saw stronger sales of its A6, A7 Sportback and A8 models, which contributed to an increase in the division’s operating earning of 26 percent to (EURO)1.4 billion. Volkswagen’s brands include mass-market nameplates SEAT and Skoda as well as luxury businesses Bentley, Bugatti and Lamborghini and commercial vehicle makers Scania and MAN.

Volkswagen shares shot higher, trading up 6.2 percent at (EURO)122.70.

The carmaker’s business boomed in a stronger United States economy, where sales rose 34 percent, and in Russia, where sales climbed 77 percent to 66,000 vehicles.

CEO Martin Winterkorn confirmed the company’s bullish outlook for rising sales in 2012 despite the uncertainties stemming from Europe’s persistent sovereign debt crisis. “The results show that we are on the right road,” he said in a statement.

The company’s financial results swung from a loss of (EURO)0.7 billion last year to a plus of (EURO)1.1 billion, lifted by the value of currency hedging instruments, the Porsche options and Chinese joint ventures.

Volkswagen is trying to complete a merger with Porsche but integrating the sports car maker has been held up by legal issues. Share options held as part of the deal have meanwhile continued to affect the companies finances as their value is restated. Options worth (EURO)8.409 billion at the end of the year were revalued to (EURO)8.990 billion, the company said.

In January this year, the company’s sales stood at 5,789 units, up 3.38 per cent from the same month last year. While in February, sales were down 7.77 per cent at 6,529 units, in March they grew by 2.85 per cent to 8,326 units.

The company, however, posted an overall growth of 51.68 per cent at 78,281 units in the fiscal 2011-12.

“We cannot grow at the same pace. Last year we grew at a very high rate. Now it is about maintaining that level,” Garg said.

Asked what are the areas of concern that the company is looking to address, he said: “Having good after-sales service … Customer expectations are increasing gradually. It is about managing customer expectations.”

Admitting that a lot more can be done to please the customers, he said: “Nobody in the industry has been able to meet 100 per cent of the customer expectations. There is definitely a gap in the industry. If somebody is happy, then somebody is unhappy.”

The company that currently has 103 dealers in 84 cities added another one here today.

On whether the company is looking to bring vehicles with alternate fuel technology, he said: “We will have to think about CNG variants. It will be a part of our discussions internally.”

Speaking at Volkswagen’s annual shareholder meeting, Heizmann stressed that MAN and Scania will remain separate brands.

Earlier in the day, Volkswagen Chief Executive Martin Winterkorn said the company’s stake in MAN was “around 74%,” slightly more than the 73% announced by MAN last week. Theoretically, this could already be sufficient for VW to sign a profit transfer and domination agreement because usually not all holders of voting stock are present at shareholder meetings.

A profit transfer and domination agreement would allow Volkswagen to gain full control over MAN, including access to all cashflows.

Under German stock market rules Volkswagen has to disclose if it raises its stake above 75%.

Volkswagen aims to reap significant economies of scale through close cooperation between MAN and Scania and forge a truck alliance that can take on global market leaders Daimler AG (DAI.XE) and Volvo AB (VOLV-B.SK).

Audi did not disclose the purchase price in announcing the deal. It said the acquisition was approved by the boards of directors of both Audi and parent Volkswagen.

Audi said the deal “will be completed as quickly as possible” once antitrust authorities have approved it.

Ducati, based in Bologna, has some 1,100 employees. Last year, it sold about 42,000 motorcycles and had revenue of some €480 million ($630 million).

The company’s motorcycles race in the MotoGP and Superbike circuits. They are known for their lightweight construction and what the company bills as its L-twin engine configuration, with one cylinder nearly vertical and the other almost horizontal.

Audi CEO Rupert Stadler said in a statement that Ducati possessed “extensive know-how in high-performance engines and lightweight construction and is one of the most profitable motorcycle producers in the world.”

Investindustrial Group said stakeholders Hospitals of Ontario Pension Plan and BS Investimenti also sold their stakes in Ducati to Audi.

Oliver Stefani, the chief designer of the VW Up!, said “the goal of this car was to make something small great, and we really got rewarded for it today.”

The Mercedes S 250 CDI BlueEfficiency won World Green Car of the Year over the Ford Focus EV and Peugeot 3008 Hybrid 4.

Neither winners are currently sold in the United States, but Daimler AG plans to bring the Mercedes engine in the 250 to the United States in the GLK by the end of the year. Mercedes showed off the 2013 GLK at this year’s auto show.

The Up! went on sale in Europe in December and has had strong sales. VW has made no decision on whether it would bring the vehicle with a 1.0-liter engine and less than 100 horsepower to the United States.

The World Car Awards jurors said the Up! “has altered what we have come to expect from the city car segment. Of note are the responsive steering, sophisticated suspension setup, new efficient engines and the quality of materials and finish.”

The redesigned Porsche 911 was released last fall and named World Performance Car of the Year, defeating the Lamborghini Aventador LP 700-4, and the McLaren MP4-12C.

“We are honored that the new Porsche 911 S Coupe was chosen by this distinguished group of jurors as the 2012 World Performance Car of the Year,” said Detlev von Platen, president and CEO of Porsche Cars North America.

“The new 911 is more powerful, delivers extraordinary driving dynamics, is more fuel efficient than ever, and is still a pure Porsche. Winning the 2012 World Performance Car is excellent validation from a global team of world-class journalists for the work and dedication of everyone at Porsche.”

The Land Rover Evoque won 2012 World Car Design of the Year, edging Citroen DS5, and the Volkswagen Up.

“We are honored that the Range Rover Evoque has been named 2012 World Car Design of the Year. This prestigious accolade recognizes the overwhelmingly positive response we’ve received to the Evoque’s bold, dramatic design. It is a car that truly resonates on an emotional level,” said Gerry McGovern, Land Rover design director and chief creative officer.

Vehicles are selected and voted on by an international jury comprised of 64 top-level automotive journalists from 25 countries.

The new IPL edition is available on the Vento, as well as the Polo, and the variants would offer additional features at no additional cost.

Briefing reporters, Volkswagen Passenger Cars Director Neeraj Garg said that the new IPL Edition cars will sport interactive car pad (like a tablet) with multimedia entertainment system, navigation facility with pre-loaded Indian maps, social networking options.

When a 3G mobile sim card is inserted, the car pad will also bring in live video feeds on IPL matches using internet.  This IPL Edition cars, Volkswagen call them ‘Action Editions’, also has dual tone leatherette seat covers, special floor mats, door seal design and IPL branding on the boot.

Garg also pointed out that to better engage customers, Volkswagen, in association with Volkswagen Financial Services India, has recently launched its own car finance facility to new buyers.  Customers availing Volkswagen’s car finance not only get loan at competitive interest rates, but also get free insurance for two years, extended warranty and after-sales service and maintenance options.

Volkswagen is to supply the companies with two cars – the 2012 Passat TDI and 2012 Jetta TDI – so that they can examine the effects the fuels will have on the Volkswagen clean diesel technology and the environment.

Over the course of 12 months, the car manufacturer’s engineers will collect data that will help them to further develop efficient, cleaner burning diesel for products in the future.

Previous analysis has shown that while advanced biofuels are similar to standard diesel blends when it comes to performance, they produce significantly less vehicle emissions.

Amyris’ fuel is derived from plant sugars and turned into renewable hydrocarbons that can be used for fuel and chemical applications. Solazyme has produced technology that uses microalgae to make oil products.

‘Amyris’ renewable diesel’s proven superior cold weather performance, high cetane and comparable energy density to petroleum diesel have enabled us to obtain one of the highest blending registrations certified by the US Environmental Protection Agency,’ says Mario Portela, COO of Amyris. ‘Our partnership with Volkswagen, like our work in Brazil, where nearly 200 buses are running on various blends of Amyris diesel, is another important milestone in expanding OEM acceptance by showing our fuels eliminate the performance challenges of first generation biofuels while still enabling significant reductions in greenhouse gas and tailpipe emissions.’

Rogerio Manso, COO of Solazyme, adds: ‘Solazyme’s 100% drop-in renewable diesel is compatible with existing infrastructure and vehicles, and provides the world-class engine manufacturer with an advanced diesel replacement that drives significant greenhouse gases as well as ground-level emission reductions.’

Alfred Rieck, who was in charge of building up the China business for VW’s low-cost Czech brand Skoda, will start his new job effective July 1.

“He has shown that he can manage a brand and increase its sales and market share. He will play a key role in the new positioning of Opel,” Chief Executive Karl-Friedrich Stracke said in a statement.

Predecessor Alain Visser switched internally to the global marketing department of GM’s Chevrolet brand.

The company’s supervisory board began a meeting earlier on Wednesday under the cloud of potential plant closures.

“We’re adding a third team at this plant for a simple reason: Customers want to buy Passats,” said Jonathan Browning, the president and CEO of Volkswagen Group of America.

The plant will operate 120 hours per week with the new workers, up 40 hours from current levels, he said.

Browning said the extra work force will help the plant ramp up and be able to produce 170,000 vehicles next year, most of which are destined for the U.S. market. Others are exported to Canada, Mexico and South Korea, he said.

Volkswagen sold nearly 23,000 Passats in the U.S. last year, an 83 percent increase over 2010. Sales have been stronger so far this year. Through February, sales of the redesigned sedan topped 14,500, according to Autodata Corp.

Browning said March sales are on pace for 10,000.

VW built its first Passat at the plant last April. It now rolls out 35 cars an hour at the plant, which surpassed 50,000 vehicles in February.

“Volkswagen is definitely on a roll in this market,” Browning said. “I can assure you, we don’t plan to stop.”

Volkswagen AG, the world’s second-largest car company, said last week that it intends to increase deliveries and revenues in 2012 despite difficult conditions in Europe.

Volkswagen Chattanooga CEO and Chairman Frank Fischer said producing vehicles in the U.S. allows the company to be “very strongly independent of the exchange rate.”

The award-winning version of the Passat is targeted at customers with different priorities than those in Europe, ranging from a larger size to more cup holders, Fischer said.

“After all, the U.S. customer doesn’t drive 240 kph (149 mph) on the Autobahn,” Fischer said in an interview in German.

Fischer said it’s out of local VW officials’ hands whether the company decides to add more production or build other models at the plant.

“At this point it’s only about Passat, no model has been decided yet,” he said. “The Passat is selling so well so we should really concentrate on what we’re doing right now, and continue to ramp up the factory.”

Thursday’s jobs announcement was in addition to 200 new positions the company announced in January. VW officials said they expect to see a spike in hiring among their main suppliers located near the plant, creating several hundred new jobs among them.

Earlier this month, the company said it will open a $40 million distribution center for parts about 80 miles from Chattanooga. VW plans to hire about 45 people at the center.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam welcomed the announcement.

“Twenty-five percent of the Volkswagens sold in America will be made in Tennessee now,” he said. “That’s a pretty significant achievement for a company that rolled off its car here in April of last year.”

Haslam said VW will qualify for economic incentives that are part of a formula agreed to as part of negotiations to bring the $1 billion plant to Tennessee. He did not specify how much the incentives will be worth.

The biggest Czech exporter, Skoda recorded a 652 million euro (S$1.1 billion) profit in 2011, an 87 per cent increase over a year earlier.

‘The dividend is to be decided by shareholders… but it will be roughly 7.1 billion Czech crowns,’ Skoda chief financial officer (CFO) Winfried Kraus told a news conference. Skoda’s overall revenues made up 6.4 per cent of Volkswagen’s income last year.

Once the butt of jokes epitomising shoddy, unreliable design, Skoda has transformed itself from its communist-era roots into a car brand that now leads consumer satisfaction surveys.

With its Superb sedan and Yeti sport utility vehicle (SUV) models winning four of the top 10 spots in the annual Which? Car Satisfaction Survey in 2011, Skoda paid a dividend of around 190 million euros on its 2010 profits.

Sales jumped 11.6 per cent in the first two months of this year, compared to the same period in 2011, to 147,500 vehicles, a trend Skoda’s chief executive officer (CEO), Mr Winfried Vahland, said should continue.

‘March, too, I can tell you this much today, will continue this trend. We expect a good first quarter for 2012,’ Mr Vahland told a news conference.

The company said it was well on its way to meeting its goal of producing at least 1.5 million cars per year by 2018.

Skoda’s production accounts for about 7 per cent of overall Czech exports. Under its plan, the company aims to boost production to 1 million cars by 2014 at the latest, from 879,200 last year.