Audi’s sales in Europe increased even with the poor state of the economy in the region. The global sales of the brand climbed by 13.6% to 136,600 units, driven by the growth in Europe, the U.S., and China. Audi said that these new models, which include the A1 Sportback, Q3 and A6 Avant, helped boost the brand’s volume increase in Europe in September. Audi’s volume in the U.S. got a boost from the new-generation A4 and A5 models and soaring demand for the Q7 SUV. Audi said that its growth in China was due partly to the high demand for SUVs and the brand's bigger cars, particularly the locally built A6 L. Last Monday, Luca de Meo, Audi's sales and marketing chief, said that this year, it was able to achieve sales of 1 million cars sold after only nine months. He pointed out that this is clear that it is attaining its strategic goals. For the month of September, Audi's sales in Europe grew by 7.4% to 72,200 units. The UK was the largest European market for Audi with sales going up by 20% to 22,389. Germany came in next with a 3.5% increase to 20,712. Audi includes Russia in its European sales figures, with the brand's volume in the country going up by 57% to 3,150. Sales fell by almost 13% in Spain, 16% in Italy and climbed by 1.4% in France. The U.S. volume increased by 26.5% to 12,302 units, while China sales expanded by 20.5% to 35,512. Audi reported a 12.8% increase in sales for the first three quarters of 2012 to 1.1 million compared to the same period in 2011.
Audi sales increase in Europe despite the poor state of the economy in the region
by Andrew Christian, Email, 09 Oct, 2012
