ROTTACH-EGERN, Germany (Reuters) - Sales of Volkswagen (VOWG.DE: Quote, Profile, Research) brand vehicles rose more than 8 percent in the first quarter of 2008 to 920,000 units, clearly outpacing overall market growth of 1.8 percent, Europe's biggest carmaker said on Tuesday.

It cited strong showings in its home market of Germany as well as China, Brazil and Argentina. Sales in Germany alone rose 8 percent to around 121,000 vehicles.

"The overall market is developing positively," said its sales and marketing chief for Germany, Martin Stangenberg, but he added it remained open whether Volkswagen could sustain that sales momentum over the entire year.

(Reporting by Arno Schuetze)