The Automotive Quarterly report for August 2015 shows a slowdown in the stock markets for both the European and global automotive indices, which are still above the level of the same quarter last year. The industry-wide stock indices for the European and global markets also show a slight decline of 2.5% and 3.1% respectively compared to the previous quarter. In terms of sales and profitability, Volkswagen has overtaken Toyota as the world's largest OEM based on the half-year sales of vehicles. However, Toyota still leads in terms of revenue with a sales figure of 47 billion euros in the passenger car division, while Volkswagen's revenue in the same division has improved by 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year, despite a decline in sales in the Chinese market. Daimler has reported a 18.9% increase in revenue compared to the same quarter last year, thanks to strong sales in the currently struggling Chinese market and increased demand for compact and off-road vehicles. BMW and Audi have improved their passenger car revenue by 17% and 9.9% respectively compared to Q2/2015 and have swapped positions. Ford and GM have benefited from the strong North American market and increased demand for pickups, with Ford's revenue increasing by 22% to 31.5 billion euros due to higher realized prices in the domestic market, and GM's revenue growing in the same period.
