German automaker Volkswagen, mired in a pollution cheating scandal, said Friday its global sales of all brands rose by 3.7 percent in January compared to the same month last year.

It sold 847,800 vehicles worldwide last month, with sales of VW vehicles alone climbing by 2.8 percent. In China, the carmaker's largest market, sales jumped 14 percent, but they fell by 7 percent in the United States, which is at the centre of the scandal.