AUDI AG: Global sales increase in June

– Western Europe’s strongest premium brand in first half of year

    * Record registrations in Germany
    * Best first half in company’s history in China
    * Growth in major Asian and European markets
    * Rising market shares in United States and Western Europe between January and June

With around 91,200 cars, AUDI AG increased its global sales by 1.3 percent last month, compared to June 2008 (2008: 90,025). Over the first six months the brand narrowed the gap to the previous year’s record sales to minus 9.7 percent, with around 466,000 vehicles delivered (2008: 516,219). The main driving forces behind the sales success in June were record unit sales in China and Germany. Likewise, Audi’s business performance in the United States and Western Europe was much better than that of its competitors. Over the first six months of this year, Audi was the strongest premium brand in Western Europe.

“Our sales success particularly in difficult markets such as Western Europe and the United States shows that Audi currently presents the best choice in the premium segment – offering the freshest product range in the industry,” said Peter Schwarzenbauer, Member of the Board of Management for Marketing and Sales. “The new Audi Q5 is enjoying greater success worldwide than its core competitors. The locally built long-wheelbase version of the Audi A4 is proving capable of meeting the special requirements of the Chinese market. And our Audi A6 was the world’s best-selling business sedan in the first half of the year.”

For the full year, Schwarzenbauer confirmed the forecast made by AUDI AG at the start of the year. “We will finish on target – achieving our sales forecast of 900,000 cars in 2009. We have been right on track over the first six months, and the current level of incoming orders serves to confirm our prognosis.” AUDI AG had already anticipated a year-on-year downturn in vehicle deliveries of around ten percent at the Detroit Auto Show in January.

In Germany, Audi also benefited from the market stimulus provided by the scrappage bonus – as reflected in the high sales figures for the A3 and A4 model families. The expiry of the motor vehicle tax exemption likewise prompted a rise in car registrations for Audi in June – to the record tally of 27,679 registrations, the highest figure in the history of the company (+18.4%; 2008: 23,369). Between January and June, figures of newly registered Audis on the German market climbed 1.4 percent to 125,157 cars (2008: 123,429).

In Western Europe the sales figures for June were down 1.7 percent on the prior-year figure (2008: 59,481) at around 58,500 cars. Growth in major markets in the region, such as Italy (5,545 cars; +3.6%), Belgium (2,690 cars; +5.2%) and Sweden (1,461 cars; up 3.5%) as well as significantly higher sales in smaller markets such as Turkey (805 cars; up 49.1%) and Greece (882 cars; up 28.8%) meant that June sales were not far off the record figure from 2008. Over the first six months of the year, Audi sold around 301,750 cars in Western Europe, 12.3 percent fewer than in the first half of 2008. With this total, the manufacturer substantially improved its market share compared with its competitors – to 4.6% as against 4.3% in the prior-year period. Thus, Audi was Western Europe’s most successful premium brand in the first half of the year.

In the United States, Audi of America made further headway in the market. With a comparatively modest downturn of 8.3 percent on the prior-year month (7,524 cars; 2008: 8,203), the company increased its market share within the premium market by 1.3 percentage points to 9.1 percent. Over the first six months, sales were still 15.9 percent down on the previous year at 37,845 units in a market that continued to contract sharply. In Canada the brand enjoyed a 51.7 percent rise in sales (1,106 cars; 2008: 729); cumulatively, vehicle sales of 5,432 cars were 17.4 percent up on the previous year.

Audi again posted record figures in China (incl. Hong Kong). In June, 13,265 Chinese customers purchased an Audi, 28.4 percent more than in June 2008 (2008: 10,329). The brand with the four rings thus completed its most successful first half ever in China. Over the first six months of the year, Audi registered sales of 66,866 cars – 10.5 percent more than in the record-breaking year of 2008 (2008: 60,509).

Audi achieved strong growth in many other markets in the Asia-Pacific region. June was a record month in both Australia and India. In Australia sales climbed 23.4 percent to 1,118 cars (2008: 906); in India, Audi sold 204 cars last month, a rise of 164.9 percent (2008: 77). Over the first half as a whole, Audi consequently sold 5,612 cars in Australia (+10.0%; 2008: 5,103) and 821 cars in India (+74.7%; 2008: 470).

Sales by the brand in Japan rose 10 percent in June to 1,875 units (2008: 1,704). Cumulatively, sales were still 4 percent down on the previous year (7,579 cars; 2008: 7,893). The healthy sales figures for individual markets are also reflected in the overall sales in the Asia-Pacific region: Audi sold around 17,500 vehicles in June, an increase of 26.1 percent (2008: 13,889). Over the first half as a whole, sales figures for the region were 9 percent up on the previous year with around 86,000 vehicles delivered.


-Esther Bahne -