Volkswagen, the world's third largest carmaker, posted flat vehicle sales in March after headwinds in global markets grew harsher, the company has said.

The Wolfsburg-based group said deliveries to customers edged up 0.2 percent to 864,500 vehicles last month, weighed down by weakness in Europe.

"Positive momentum was maintained in North America and China. Almost all other regions, however, particularly the markets in Western Europe, remain affected by uncertainty which is in some cases considerable," Volkswagen sales chief Christian Klingler said in a statement.

"The data for March clearly show that the markets are becoming even more difficult," he added.

For the first quarter, volumes rose 5.1 percent to 2.27 million vehicles, driven by a 21 percent gain in China, the group's single largest market.