Audi reports 25% rise in China car sales in Q1

Audi, Volkswagen's high-end line, reported it sold 30,000 units in China in the first three months, a 25 percent increase over the same period a year earlier.

The sales figure in the first two months was 19,188 units, and March sales were about 11,000, according to Zhang Xiaojun, Deputy Managing Director of the FAW-Volkswagen Audi Sales Division.

"As the largest overseas market for the brand, China accounted for 10.5 percent of global sales of Audi vehicles," he said here on Monday.

The luxury auto maker has set an annual sales target of 200,000 units in China before 2015, but it is very likely the goal will be accomplished before then.

Audi sold 964,000 units in the global market last year, ranking third in luxury car sales after BMW and Mercedes Benz. The two leaders sold 1.28 million and 1.19 million units respectively.

Audi realized 33.62 billion euros (52.6 billion U.S. dollars) in sales worldwide last year, and reported a pre-tax profit of 2.92 billion euros.