BERLIN
Luxury automaker Audi AG said Thursday that its global sales in July rose 2.1 percent from a year ago, as demand in China helped stem a wider decline.
The Ingolstadt-based company, a unit of Volkswagen AG, said the growth in July was strong in Europe and Asia, both key markets for the maker of the A4, TT and other models, and added that U.S. sales were also starting to pick up though, ultimately, they were lower.
"In recent months we've bolstered our brand worldwide by investing wisely; and with our sales success in July we further increased the pressure on the competition," said Peter Schwarzenbauer, who oversees sales and marketing at the carmaker.
The company sold 13,399 cars in China during July, up 42.5 percent from last year. For the year to date, sales were up nearly 15 percent. Across Asia, sales were up
Audi, like other luxury carmakers, including BMW AG and Daimler AG, has reported a slowdown in declining sales, as signs that the global auto sales collapse has hit bottom.
"Our financial data show that we are not only achieving impressive sales figures, but that our business is above all profitable; our encouraging development is long-lasting," Schwarzenbauer said.
Investors were not impressed, sending shares down 4 percent to euro399.01 in Frankfurt trading.
Last week, Audi said its net profit from January to June was approximately euro697 million ($1 billion), down 25 percent from euro930 million in 2008.
From January to July, total sales slipped 8.1 percent worldwide with 551,000 sold compared to 599,429 in the first seven months of 2008.
In western Europe, Audi's seven-month sales fell to 102,500, a drop of 2.4 percent but, at the same time, it lifted its market share.
U.S. sales fell 5.8 percent in July, and dropped 14.6 percent for the year to date. Despite the dip, it managed to lift its market share there by 1.4 percentage points to 7.6 percent.
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