BERLIN — German automaker Volkswagen sold 2.5 million cars in the first quarter of 2017, 0.5 percent lower than Q1 2016, according to a report released on Thursday.

"We finished the first quarter with good delivery figures for March," said Fred Kappler, head of Volkswagen Group Sales.

As reported, the German largest automaker delivered 990,900 vehicles in March, 2.5 percent higher than that in the same month last year.

Kappler said growth drivers were Europe, North and South Americas, which saw a marked increase in new vehicle deliveries.

Europe remained the largest market for Volkswagen, where it sold almost 1.1 million vehicles for the first three months, increasing 4.4 percent year-on-year.

In the United States, although Volkswagen is still struggling against the negative effects of diesel emissions scandal, its sales still surged 9.2 percent to 135,400 for Q1.

Volkswagen's sales in China, its largest market in Asia, slipped however 6.7 percent to 891,500 in Q1, as its brand Audi recalled cars in China, resulting in a sharp decrease of 22 percent in sales.

Kappler expected that sales in China would rebound in Q2.