AUDI's January Sales Increases 39%

AUDI has reported sales of 77,800 units for the month of January 2010, an increase of 39% compared to 56,138 units for the same period prior year. Sales in the US rose by 37.9% to 6,510 cars compared to 4,722 for the corresponding period prior year. Sales in Europe, outside Germany, increased by 23%, with 33,300 compared to 27,020 for the same month prior year.

Contributing to the sales growth is the new Audi A5 Sportback, which is now available for the first time, as well as the Audi Q5, which has outsold its competitors' models in Europe, said the company.

Peter Schwarzenbauer, member of the board of management for marketing and sales at AUDI, said: Due to the current order registrations, we expect a strong first quarter in 2010.

With this successful start we're on target to reach the record we set in 2008 of one million cars sold, which we want to achieve again in 2010.

In its German home market, the Ingolstadt-based company sold 11,657 premium cars, an increase of 9.3% compared to 10,662 for the same period prior year. In UK, Audi's sales grew in January by 42.9% to 9,004 units compared to 6,302 for the same month prior year. The Audi Q5 made a large contribution to the 21% growth in Italy, where 4,755 cars were sold compared to 3,929 for the same period prior year. In France, Audi sold 3,690 cars with an increase of 0.2%, compared to 3,683 for the same period prior year.

In Spain, Audi sold 3,311 units with 11.1% increase compared to 2,979 for the same period prior year. Sales figures also rose in Eastern Europe, with 812 cars sold in Russia representing a 58.3% gain compared to 513 for the same period prior year.

In the Asia-Pacific region, sales for the brand rose by 101% to around 20,850 cars compared to 10,381 for the same period prior year. Along with growth of 114.9% in China (including Hong Kong), with 16,798 units sold, sales also grew in Japan by 33.6%, with 991 cars delivered to customers compared to 742 for the same period prior year.