Audi troubled with minimal growth in China in July, but profits remain

Gasgoo.com (Shanghai August 21) - The growth rate of Chinese luxury vehicle market has dropped to less than 4 percent from a year earlier in the first half of the year. Audi, though taking a premier position of Chinese luxury vehicle market, is encountered with minimal growth in the first half of the year.

As the biggest single market, China (including Hong Kong) witnesses Audi’s sales in the area decreasing 12.5 percent from a year earlier to 42,267 units in July. The automaker still keeps the highest position in high-end vehicle market in the first seven months, with sales increasing slightly to 314,457 units compared with a year earlier.

Among all the market of Audi worldwide, only Chinese and Russian market reported weakening growth rates. Audi’s sales in Russia in the first seven months declined 23 percent to 2,003 units on a year-on-year basis. As a result, Audi’s global sales in July fall behind that of its rival Mercedes-Benz, who earns the top position in luxury vehicle sales.

Audi has announced counter plans to change the adverse circumstance. Faced with all these challenges in Chinese market including the turbulent share market, the company intends to launch an array of new and revised version of the hot-selling models through cooperation with Chinese dealers, according to a statement of Luca de Meo, one member of Audi’s board of directors managing marking and sales.

On the other hand, Audi sees a surging profit in the same period in China, where the company’s leading position still remains. Though, it has cost the automaker a large sum of money in new vehicle development and new technology improvement, Audi still manages to realize its profit goal in China in the first seven months of the year.