BERLIN, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- German automotive industry giant Volkswagen AG sold a record number of 10.74 million vehicles worldwide during the past year, marking an annual increase of 4.3 percent, it said on Wednesday.

The Wolfsburg-based firm, which includes Volkswagen, Porsche, Audi, Skoda and Seat amongst its 12 separate brands, witnessed monthly sales growth of 8.5 percent in December, which ultimately ensured its lead over Japanese rival Toyota.

The flagship brand Volkswagen accounted for the overwhelming majority of total car sales (6.2 million), followed by Audi (1.9 million), Skoda (1.2 million), Seat (468,000) and Porsche (246,000).

"We are grateful for the trust we received from our customers reflected in these numbers," a statement by Volkswagen Chief Executive Officer Matthias Mueller read.

The "historically good" result was mainly owed to the "strong teamwork" across the corporation, he added.

Mueller's corporation witnessed its fastest growth in regions largely unaffected by the ongoing "dieselgate"- and "cartel" scandals, such as Asia-Pacific ( 4.3 percent), Central & Eastern Europe (13.2 percent), and Southern America (23.7 percent).

Volkswagen delivered 4.2 million new vehicles (5.1) to the increasingly-significant Chinese market and achieved monthly sales growth of 17.8 percent in December there.

Sales growth in Europe was lower at 3.3 percent, while a slight fall in deliveries (minus 0.4) was recorded in Volkswagen's home market of Germany. However, German monthly sales in December were up by five percent, potentially signaling a recovery of the company's tarnished image.

Volkswagen's more luxury-oriented domestic rivals Daimler and BMW also achieved record sales in 2017 for the seventh year in a row with 2.42 million and 2.46 million passenger cars (excl. trucks and buses) delivered respectively.