AUDI AG sold more than 516,000 cars to customers worldwide between January and June (2007: 508,842). This represents a gain of 1.4 percent compared with the first six months of 2007. In June, Audi sold around 90,000 cars (2007: 88,846).
The premium car brand is expecting significant growth mainly in the second half of the year, thanks to market launches of important high-volume models.
“In 2008 we will achieve record sales of more than one million cars for the first time in our history,” said Audi Chairman Rupert Stadler. “The first half of the year was marked by major model changes for us, yet we’re already two percent above target.”
Sales figures for the high-volume model lines of the Ingolstadt-based company were marked by the introduction of new model generations and model improvements. The next-generation Audi A4 Avant was launched throughout Europe in May; the new A4 Sedan became available in Germany at the end of 2007 and sold very well in its first months on the market.
Major product improvements are upcoming for both the Audi A3 and the Audi A6 and will provide further impetus for sales of Audi cars in coming months.
“We will launch the updated Audi A3 in July. For the A4 important new engine versions in the mid-performance range are on their way and in September sales start on the US market,” said Peter Schwarzenbauer, Member of the Board of Management for Marketing and Sales of AUDI AG. Later in the year, Audi will also introduce the new Audi Q5, along with the Audi A6 product improvement. “We will reap the rewards of this product initiative in the fourth quarter,” added Schwarzenbauer. Audi already features the youngest model range in the automotive industry. By 2015, AUDI AG wants to expand its range from currently 26 to then 40 models.
In the first six months, Audi sales increased in particular in Asia-Pacific: from January to June, Audi sold around 78,900 cars here, 19.9 percent more than last year (2007: 65,792). In June, the figure was approximately 13,900 cars, an increase of 16.6 percent (2007: 11,913). Audi was able to further extend its leading position in China (including Hong Kong) which it has held for 20 years. The 60,509 cars sold, up 22.8 percent, represented a new record (2007: 49,267). Sales in June, with 10,329 cars sold, were 20.3 percent higher than in the same month last year.
The markets in Eastern Europe are also showing consistently positive development: between January and June, Audi’s sales figures grew by 15.1 percent to more than 22,400 cars (2007: 19,494). Around 4,100 cars sold in June represented a gain of 22.8 percent (2007: 3,338). In the boom market of the region, Russia, Audi sales were up 19.1 percent on the corresponding period of last year, with 8,660 cars sold. In June, with 1,668 cars handed over to customers, sales were 10.8 percent higher than in June 2007.
AUDI AG also recorded growing sales in the United Kingdom, its most important European export market. Here, the brand sold 57,983 cars in the first half of the year, 4.4 percent more than last year (2007: 55,557). In June alone, Audi sold 8,488 cars in the UK, up 1.4 percent (2007: 8,370).
In the US, Audi recorded increased sales in June – bucking the trend in a significantly declining overall market. With 8,203 cars, the premium car brand sold 5.3 percent more cars than in the same month last year (2007: 7,789). In total, sales in the difficult market environment remained 1.5 percent behind last year’s figure, with 45,024 cars sold. Audi expects the introduction of the high-volume A4 model in September, along with the premier at year’s end of the TDI with ultra low emission system– the world’s most cutting-edge diesel technology – in the Audi Q7, to provide important impetus for sales in the US.