WOLFSBURG, Germany -

As the Volkswagen Group aims to climb the global market share ladder, expanding its presence in the U.S. market is vital for the German automaker. Through the first seven months of the year, VW has done exactly that, lifting its U.S. sales by more than 20 percent from a year ago.

The 20.5 percent increase in year-to-date U.S. sales for the group — which reached 249,500 units through July — has helped the automaker post double-digit growth globally so far this year.

What’s more, last month the group’s Audi brand had its best July ever for U.S. sales. 

Meanwhile, the VW brand had its best July in nine years with 29,066 sales in America.

“July was a strong month and signaled a good start for the second half of the year,” stated Jonathan Browning, Volkswagen of America’s president and chief executive officer. “For the seventh month in a row, we significantly outpaced the industry performance, showing strong baseline demand for our products.”

Audi sold 9,146 units in the U.S. during July and achieved its seventh straight record breaking month.

"As demand for the Audi brand in the U.S. continues to climb, it is clear that Audi is setting the standard for luxury vehicles," said Johan de Nysschen, president at Audi of America. "We are pleased to see consumers continue to reward Audi for its industry leading technology, excellent craftsmanship and superior performance."

VW Group has also been quite strong in North America, as a whole.

The company moved 375,500 vehicles continent-wide during the year’s first seven months, up 21.4 percent from the year-ago period. By brand, the Audi division was up 17.3 percent in North America, and the VW brand was up 22 percent.

Delving into global results, VW moved 4.75 million units worldwide from January through July, compared to the 4.16 million it sold in the first seven months of 2010.

Breaking it down further, VW moved 2.95 million units and Audi sold 758,900 vehicles. Sales for the Skoda brand came in at 523,300 and the SEAT brand moved 215,500 units. There were 303,100 sales for VW commercial vehicles.

“The sales teams for all brands have grown deliveries all over the world,” said Christian Klingler, VW Group board member for sales. “The Volkswagen Group is maintaining its growth trajectory with its strong model range.”