Demand in China, US lifts Audi July car sales 7.7%

German luxury car maker Audi AG (NSU.XE) said Friday that global sales rose 7.7% on the year in July to around 91,400 cars, driven by strong demand in China and the U.S.

"We want to significantly increase (the) share of imported cars in China," Audi sales chief Peter Schwarzenbauer said in a statement. "In July we more than tripled sales of our imported models in China compared with July 2009, to 3,696 units," he added.

Sales in Western Europe were down 8.9% last month at 50,450 cars. "The Audi A1, which we will be launching in late August, will provide fresh impetus for our business in Western Europe," Schwarzenbauer said.

Audi is the premium brand and key earnings contributor of Volkswagen AG (VOW.XE), Europe's largest automaker by sales.

MAIN FACTS:

- Audi July global car sales up 7.7% on the year at 91,400 vehicles.

- Audi January-to-July global sales up 17% year-on-year at 646,300 vehicles.

- Audi July car sales in China up 53% on the year at 20,537 vehicles.

- Audi July car sales in Germany down 20% on the year at 18,829 vehicles.

- Audi July U.S. car sales up 22% on the year at 7,817 vehicles.

- Audi July U.K. car sales up 0.1% on the year at 7,120 vehicles.