Volkswagen (VOWG.DE), Europe's biggest carmaker, gave a wary outlook for world automotive markets on Monday even while reporting a third consecutive month of sales growth in July.

Group sales and marketing head Detlef Wittig said VW was winning market share but warned against euphoria amid signs that a protracted global economic slump was coming to an end.

The recession is not over yet, it has perhaps bottomed out, but we see no signs yet of a sustained recovery on world markets. That is why we are viewing further developments with caution, he said in a statement.

Paced by strong showings in Germany and China, VW boosted July unit sales 6.7 percent to 556,900 vehicles.

That brought sales volume in the first seven months to 3.65 million units, a decline of 3.5 percent when it said the overall market shrank around 16 percent.

Its core Volkswagen brand posted 15.2 percent sales volume growth in July.

(Reporting by Michael Shields)

China Volkswagen Germany