The FINANCIAL — Sales figures for AUDI AG continue to increase significantly in all regions of the world:
The Company sold around 120,200 cars worldwide in September – 17.1 percent more than during the same month last year. Sales in Europe grew 9.0 percent to around 67,200 cars, driven primarily by high growth in the United Kingdom and in the Scandinavian markets. Audi experienced especially sharp growth in sales in the United States, up 19.3 percent, and in China: In its largest sales market, the Ingolstadt-based company once again significantly accelerated its growth and, with sales of around 29,500 cars, exceeded sales for September of last year by 33.2 percent.
“The third quarter has been an especially successful one for Audi in China. We were able to significantly extend our premium segment lead thanks in part to our expanded production capacities,” said Peter Schwarzenbauer, Member of the Board of Management for Marketing and Sales at AUDI AG. Between January and September, the company’s cumulative sales in the Middle Kingdom amounted to around 226,000 vehicles. Schwarzenbauer: “During the first week of October we had already equaled our sales record for all of 2010 in China. We want to pass the 300,000 mark for the first time in 2011.”
In addition to the locally manufactured models Audi A4L and Q5, the success of the four rings in China was driven above all by the Q7 and the A8L. While the luxury-class SUV achieved an 82.9 percent increase in sales in September with around 1,600 units, the flagship model, which was introduced to the Chinese market in March, more than doubled the sales that its predecessor achieved during the same month last year. Overall, sales of all import models experienced yet another particularly dramatic increase, rising 77.4 percent. Audi will increase its import product range and expand into new segments this year with the A1 and the A7 Sportback.
In the USA, the new A6 Sedan that became available in July provided another boost to the brand’s luxury-class initiative. With strong growth in the top model lines and a 19.3 percent increase in sales to 9,725 units across all models, Audi of America continued the significant double-digit growth of the past months. From January through September, Audi delivered 84,981 cars to US customers, 15.5 percent more than during the same period of 2010.
In Germany, AUDI AG increased its sales most recently by another 7.5 percent to 20,002 premium cars; cumulative sales in the company’s home market surpassed that of the same period last year by 15 percent, with 185,022 cars. As in European countries outside Germany, additional growth was sparked in September above all by the A1 and by the new generation of the A6.
Strong growth in the United Kingdom contributed in September particularly to the 11.6 percent increase in sales figures in Western Europe over the first nine months to around 518,600 vehicles. 18,653 UK customers chose an Audi: 15.7 percent more than during the same month of last year. In Sweden, the most important growth market for Audi in Scandinavia, the brand grew by 15.0 percent to 1,486 deliveries, and by an even more impressive 56.9 percent in the Netherlands, to 1,790 vehicles. Despite difficult market conditions, Audi was also able to sell more cars in Spain than during September of 2010, posting a gain of 9.7 percent (2,634 units); sales in Italy (5,713; +0.9%) achieved last year’s levels. In France, Audi remains on track for growth despite declining figures in September; cumulative deliveries here were 18.0 percent above those for the same period last year. Schwarzenbauer: “Audi is the clear number one in the premium segment in France. With a high level of orders, we are looking to sell more than 60,000 cars there for the first time this year.”
The dynamic growth in Eastern Europe continued for Audi in September with a 20.7 percent increase in sales. This was surpassed by strong growth in South America, where the company was able to exceed its deliveries for the same month last year by 62.0 percent. Topping the list here were the growth rates in Argentina (554 vehicles; +88.4 percent) and Brazil (626; +58.1 percent).
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