The German automaker's numbers bested analysts' expectations and further strengthened its ability to take over Porsche.
Volkswagen's massive net income, reported in euros, bested Ford's 6.56 billion, Toyota's 6 billion and General Motors' 4.7 billion last year. VW still trailed rival Toyota in terms of global sales, but the record income and continued growth in emerging markets help put it in a position analysts didn't anticipate. VW has set a goal of becoming the world's largest automaker by 2018, a position still held by Toyota.
An aggregate of analyst figures pinned VW at 4.96 billion euros, a number the automaker exceeded by nearly 2 billion.
Chinese position
VW's sales in China were up 37 percent last year to 1.92 million and the automaker has closed its gap behind Toyota in other emerging markets like Brazil, India and Russia.
VW has nine vehicle plants in China and it says it plans to add two more to help double Chinese production to 3 million cars annually.
While GM is the best-poised Detroit automaker in the increasingly lucrative Chinese market, VW had a hefty head start. The German brand entered the Chinese market 30 years ago, making the people's car the first foreign automaker to enter the People's Republic.
