Volkswagen of America, Inc. (VWoA) reported 38,170 units sold in June, a 34.2 percent increase over prior year sales, 35.4 percent increase year-to-date and the best June and best first half since 1973.

“Selling over 200,000 vehicles in the first half of the year is a significant accomplishment for Volkswagen and a strong sign that our broad range of high-quality vehicles are continuing to gain acceptance by pundits and consumers,” said Jonathan Browning, President and CEO, Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. “As we prepare for the second half of the year, we are confident that the foundations we’ve put in place will continue to bear fruit.”

The 2012 Motor Trend Car of the Year, the Volkswagen Passat sold 10,252 units, marking four months of sales over 10,000 units. The Passat TDI was recently named the winner of Edmunds.com’s 40 MPG challenge beating out 6 other sedans tested; the Passat averaged 43 mpg in city driving and 51.7 mpg on the highway portion of the test route.

In addition to receiving numerous product awards for vehicle quality, value and performance, the Volkswagen brand received a number of accolades this year, including Strategic Vision’s #1 Brand for Total Value Index; the CLIO Award for Global Advertiser of the Year and Rutgers University’s Gold Edison Green Award.

Jetta sedan, including the enthusiast GLI model, remains the volume leader for Volkswagen with sales totaling 11,598, while Jetta SportWagen totaled 2,006.

The Beetle continues to gain momentum with 2,914 units sold, while Golf sales totaled 4,092 units. This also marks the best June ever for Tiguan, selling 2,885 units. The Volkswagen Touareg sold 794 units.