SHANGHAI (Reuters) – Volkswagen expects global sales of its core brand this year to be in line with the 6.24 million level that it achieved in 2018 even though China sales dipped in the first-quarter, the company said on Monday.

“We expect sales in the Chinese market to be on the same level as last year. Worldwide we expect sales to be in line and are optimistic that we can even post some growth,” Juergen Stackmann, the VW brand’s board member responsible for sales, told journalists on the sidelines of the Shanghai Autoshow.

Sales in China fell in the first quarter but government incentives are expected to boost demand in the second half of the year, leading the VW brand to expect stable sales on a full year basis, Stackmann said.