Audi '08 China sales up 17% to 119,598 units

Shanghai, January 22 (Gasgoo.com) Audi, a premium brand subsidiary of Volkswagen AG, has announced that its sales in China, including Hong Kong, increased 17% year on year (y/y) to 119,598 vehicles in 2008, sina.com said today. Construction of a new assembly plant in Changchun has started to expand production capacity.

Last year, sales of Audi cars locally made by FAW VW in Changchun increased 14% to 105,958 units, including 85,367 Audi A6L (up 16%) and 20,591 Audi A4 models (up 4%). Sales of imported Audi vehicles grew 55%. The Audi TT sold 1,764 units and the Audi Q7 hit 5,806 units, growing 68% and 52%, respectively. Sales of the Audi A8 rose 35% to 4,608 units, making China the world's largest sales market for the Audi A8.

Audi expects additional impetus for sales growth from the long-wheelbase version of the Audi A4, which was launched to the Chinese market at the beginning of 2009. Designed and manufactured exclusively for the Chinese market, the Audi A4L is the first long-wheelbase version in the upper mid-sized segment.

Global sales of Audi broke through the one million barrier in 2008 at 1,003,400 units, up 4.1% y/y, fueled by the new Q5 small SUV and the new-generation A4 series. Audi's next long-term target is annual sales of 1.5 million units by 2015. Audi is the premium brand and big seller of Volkswagen AG.

Audi has been present in China since 1988 and for years has posted double-digit growth rates. The company said that the construction has begun on a new assembly plant in Changchun to expand production capacity to meet the growing demand.