AUDI AG: Sales growth in every region
Ingolstadt (ots)
- Sales chief Schwarzenbauer: "We are clearly en route to our goal
of selling 1.2 million automobiles this year"
- Strong April in Germany with 22,204 vehicles sold
- Particularly significant rates of growth worldwide in the luxury
class- Cross-reference: Picture is available at http://www.presseportal.de/pm/6730/audi_ag/?keygroup=bild -
AUDI AG is continuing its strong sales growth: the Company sold some 109,400 vehicles worldwide in April - a year-on-year increase of 13.2 percent. During the first four months of this year, customers took delivery of around 422,000 units - 17.0 percent more than during the comparable period in 2010. In Germany, Audi even surpassed its first quarter growth rate with an increase of 16.1 percent in April. Sales also rose once again in Europe as a whole, propelled by particularly impressive growth of 30.1 percent in Eastern Europe. Strong growth in India helped set new records in the Asia-Pacific region.
"Audi clearly continues to grow worldwide. The current order position means we're well on our way to our target of selling 1.2 million vehicles this year," says Peter Schwarzenbauer, Member of the Board of Management for Marketing and Sales at AUDI AG. As for the brand's luxury class initiative, he adds: "We expect to be boosted once more by the recent market launch of the A7 Sportback in the United States. Over its life-cycle, we hope to sell around 25 percent of all A7 Sportbacks to U.S. customers."
Even before the A7 Sportback and the new A6 Sedan had reached dealerships in many key markets, Audi increased luxury class sales significantly during the last four months. Worldwide growth in this class amounted to 20.6 percent. Deliveries of the Audi Q7 luxury SUV rose by an impressive 48.1 percent. The Audi A8 also notched up robust figures: in Western Europe alone, some 3,400 customers opted for the top model from January through April. The A8 further improved its position in Germany as well, with 1,780 registrations.
In addition to the A8, substantial April growth rates in Germany can be attributed primarily to the Audi A1 and the successful roll-out of the new A6 Sedan: Deliveries of 22,204 vehicles in Germany represented a year-on-year increase of 16.1 percent. High double- digit rates of growth were also reported by many European export markets. In particular, Audi sold 5,535 automobiles in France (up 20.5 percent) and 2,821 units in Russia (up 36.1 percent). In Europe as a whole, the brand boosted sales in April by 10.1 percent to some 63,650 automobiles; from January through April, approximately 250,150 deliveries equated to a year-on-year increase of 13.6 percent.
The Ingolstadt-based manufacturer also stayed on course for growth in the USA. With 10,018 vehicles delivered and growth of 7.5 percent, April proved to be the strongest sales month thus far in 2011. Thanks to year-on-year growth of 16.0 percent for April in Canada, North American sales figures for the first four months of the year amounted to some 43,500 automobiles, an increase of 17.0 percent compared to one year ago.
In April, Audi's most important sales market was once again China. Sales figures in the Middle Kingdom grew by 21.2 percent compared to 2010 for a total of 23,766 units. Audi thus sold 87,888 vehicles in China in four months - a year-on-year increase of 23.7 percent. Last but not least, the Indian market is playing an increasingly dynamic role in the Asia-Pacific region. Audi India delivered 1,986 premium vehicles to customers during the first four months of 2011 - twice as many as just one year ago.
Sales April Cumulative
AUDI AG 2011 2010 Versus 2011 2010 Versus
2010 2010
World 109,400 96,689 +13.2% 422,000 360,706 +17.0%
Europe 63,650 57,824 +10.1% 250,150 220,255 +13.6%
- Germany 22,204 19,124 +16.1% 78,487 68,645 +14.3%
- Great
Britain 8,885 8,509 +4.4% 43,754 39,180 +11.7%
- Italy 5,408 5,183 +4.3% 22,106 20,795 +6.3%
- France 5,535 4,593 +20.5% 21,629 17,224 +25.6%
- Spain 3,994 4,207 -5.1% 16,369 15,401 +6.3%
USA 10,018 9,319 +7.5% 35,401 30,634 +15.6%
Asia-
Pacific 28,200 23,225 +21.3 108,050 87,671 +23.3%
- China 23,766 19,606 +21.2 87,888 71,055 +23.7
(incl.
Hong Kong) The Audi Group delivered around 1,092,400 cars of the Audi brand to customers in 2010. The Company posted revenue of E35.4 billion and an operating profit of E3.3 billion in 2010. Audi produces vehicles in Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm (Germany), Gyor (Hungary), Changchun (China) and Brussels (Belgium). Aurangabad in India saw the start of CKD production of the Audi A6 at the end of 2007, of the Audi A4 in early October 2008 and of the Audi Q5 in July 2010. Production of the new Audi A1 has been running at the Brussels plant since May 2010. The Company is active in more than 100 markets worldwide. AUDI AG's wholly owned subsidiaries include AUDI HUNGARIA MOTOR Kft., Automobili Lamborghini Holding S.p.A. in Sant'Agata Bolognese (Italy) and quattro GmbH in Neckarsulm. Audi currently employs around 60,000 people worldwide, including around 46,600 in Germany. Between 2011 and 2015 the brand with the four rings is planning to invest more than E11 billion, mainly in new products, in order to sustain the Company's technological lead embodied in its "Vorsprung durch Technik" slogan. By 2015, Audi plans to increase the number of models in its portfolio to 42.
Audi has long been fulfilling its social responsibility on many levels - with the aim of making the future worth living for generations to come. The basis for Audi's lasting success is therefore formed by environmental protection, the conservation of resources, international competitiveness and a forward-looking human resources policy. One example of AUDI AG's commitment to environmental issues is the newly established Audi Environmental Foundation.
Contact:
Corporate Communications Moritz Drechsel Spokesman for Marketing and
Sales Tel: +49 841 89-39914 e-mail: moritz.drechsel@audi.de
www.audi-mediaservices.com/reports
Original content of: Audi AG, transmitted by news aktuell