Volkswagen, Europe's biggest car maker, said on Monday its 2008 profit rose 15 percent and it expected to gain market share during the current global automotive sector crisis. A VW statement said 2008 net profit came to 4.75 billion euros (6.0 billion dollars) as sales rose 4.5 percent to a record 113.8 billion euros, with operating profit up 3.0 percent to 6.3 billion euros.

The 2008 dividend was increased seven percent to 1.93 euros per share. "We met our target and surpassed our record results for 2007 even though conditions were tougher," chairman Martin Winterkorn said.

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2009