Audi expects record cars sales in China this year

German carmaker Audi AG said Wednesday it already beat its 2008 record for car sales in China and that it expects to sell over 130,000 cars there this year.

Audi, based in Ingolstadt, is a division of Europe's biggest automotive group, Volkswagen AG.

It said it delivered 118,196 cars in China, year-to-date, a 22 percent increase over 2008 levels.

The company, which has a production facility in Changchun, said its A4 model's sales increased more than 62 percent while the A6 model's sales increased more than 16 percent.

"The record surpassed our expectations," Peter Schwarzbauer, Audi's chief of sales and marketing said in a statement.

"By year's end, we'll clearly sell more than 130,000 cars in China," he said.

Shares of Audi were down about a quarter of a percent at euro418.05 ($618.71) in Frankfurt morning trade.