Audi China sales in July up 43% to 13,399 units

Shanghai, August 6 (Gasgoo.com) Last month, Audi sales in China including Hong Kong jumped nearly 43% to 13,399 vehicles, marking another monthly record, propelled by booming demand in the Chinese market, the premium brand of Volkswagen said today, Reuters reported.

Audi's success in its second-largest market assured overall Audi volumes grew by 2.1% in July to some 85,000 vehicles. In the first seven months of the year, Audi sales fell 8.1% to 551,000 units -- a decline mitigated by a 15% gain in China.

As a result, the share of volumes sold in China as a percentage of the overall group has risen to 14.6% in January through July versus 11.9% for the full year 2008.

"In recent months we've bolstered our brand worldwide by investing wisely, and with our sales success in July we further increased the pressure on the competition," said an Audi sales executive.

Audi also managed solid growth rates in its substantially smaller Asian markets like Japan and Australia, while in its core domestic market in Germany sales eked out a tiny increase to 23,404 vehicles.

Overall in western Europe, Audi sales volumes fell just 2.4% to 55,400 vehicles last month.