Demand in western Europe, China and the Americas helped Volkswagen AG sales motor ahead in the second quarter, the company said Thursday.

Earnings rose sharply to $1.6 billion, and revenue for the company that is building an assembly plant in Chattanooga was up 21.9 percent. The Volkswagen group — which also includes brands such as Audi, Skoda and Seat — delivered 8.8 percent more cars.

Deliveries to customers rose to 1.87 million vehicles from 1.72 million, according to VW.

First Security reports loss

Chattanooga-based First Security Group Inc., parent company of FSGBank, announced Thursday a $2.7 million net loss in the second quarter.

The loss, which equals 17 cents per diluted share, is compared to a loss of $1.9 million, or 12 cents per share, in the second quarter of 2009.

The company attributes the economic slowdown that has produced elevated credit costs for financial institutions as part of the reason for the increased losses from the year-ago period. Provisions for loan and lease losses combined with other asset quality expenses also significantly affected second-quarter results, according to a company news release.