Profits have more than doubled at Volkswagen after the company delivered a record number of vehicles in 2011.

Preliminary figures show that the company reported a net profit of €15.8bn for 2011, compared with €7.2bn in 2010. It delivered more than 8.2 million vehicles, up almost 15% on 2010.

VW plans to spend €62bn on new plants and models in the next five years, as well as on research and development. It will also hire 50,000 more staff in the next six years. The company plans to be the biggest carmaker in terms of sales and profits by 2018.