Berlin  - Despite a surge in demand in China and Brazil, Europe's biggest carmaker Volkswagen AG reported Friday a 0.8 per cent worldwide fall in VW-brand car sales in May as surging oil prices kept auto buyers away from showrooms.

German-based Volkswagen said it had delivered 318,600 vehicles last month in what it described as "a difficult market environment."

However, VW sales in the five months through to May rose 6.7 per cent to a record 1.57 million, helped along by a strong performance of the auto group's markets in China and Brazil, which reported a rise of about 19 per cent from January to May.

The 18.8-per-cent increase in China was despite the earthquake which hit part of the nation.

In VW's domestic German market, deliveries rose by 9.2 per cent in the first five months of the year compared with the same period last year. (dpa)