Volkswagen (VW) Group sales slipped by 1.1% to 2.4m passenger cars in the first quarter of 2017, according to its quarterly results.

In Europe, sales rose by 2.6% year-on-year to 1.05m vehicles, with an increase of 2.2% in Western Europe.

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Among the largest European car markets, VW sales rose 2.9% in the UK, 8.9% in Spain, and 15.6% in Italy. In Germany, sales declined by 1.1%, while VW Group saw a 6% slip in French sales. Eastern European sales rose in Q1 2017, increasing by 12.6% year-on-year, including a 20.6% rise in Poland.

A 7.1% decline in Asia-Pacific sales impacted the results, encouraged by a 6.8% fall in VW’s sales in China. In North America, deliveries increased 5.5% year-on-year.

VW reported revenue of €56.2bn (£47.5bn) for the first quarter of 2017, a rise of 10.3% from the same period in 2016. The group saw its operating profit increase to €4.4bn, and achieved profit before tax of €4.6bn in the first three months of 2017.

However, VW’s net cash flow was negative, with a net minus of €2.6bn over the same period, which it attributed to “the diesel issue.”

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Worldwide by brand, Skoda, SEAT, Bentley, and Porsche all reported sales increases in Q1, while sales of Volkswagens passenger cars and Audi declined.

Volkswagen passenger cars recorded 1.3% fewer sales, while Audi took the biggest hit, with a decline of 7.3% to 422,603 deliveries worldwide.

Matthias Muller, chief executive officer of Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft expressed optimism despite the sales setbacks.

He said: “Our quarterly figures were positively impacted by the strong performance of the group brands. We are encouraged by the strong results presented today.”

VW Group said that it expects a 4% year-on-year increase in sales for the full year, though acknowledged that issues such as economic challenges may affect their profit.