Audi vehicle China sales rise 26% in May

FRANKFURT, Germany — German car maker Volkswagen AG said Friday its luxury and sports car division Audi AG is on track to sell one million vehicles in 2008.

Audi sold 88,200 vehicles in May, an 0.8 per cent increase compared with May a year ago, Volkswagen said. Sales in the month were up 26 per cent in China, the largest foreign market for Audi.

In the first five months of the year, the company said it sold 426,000 Audi vehicles, an increase of 1.5 per cent driven mainly by growth in the Asian-Pacific region and eastern European countries.

"We have set a sales target of one million vehicles for 2008, expecting strong year-on-year growth in the second half of the year," Audi chairman Rupert Stadler said. "With the sales figures for the first five months, we are already ahead of schedule."

May sales in the Asia-Pacific grew by more than 22 per cent to 12,600 vehicles, compared with 10,312 sold during May a year ago. Sales in the month were up 26 per cent in China, the largest foreign market for Ingolstadt-based Audi.

In the first five months, sales in the Asia-Pacific region grew more than 20 per cent to approximately 65,000 vehicles, compared with 53,879 in 2007.

May sales in eastern Europe increased nearly nine per cent to 3,550 vehicles. In the January-May period, the company sold more than 18,300 vehicles there, a 13.5 per cent increase.

Audi shares fell 1.3 per cent to 557.80 euros (US$862.28), while Volkswagen shares slipped 0.8 per cent to 171.26 euros ($264.74) in Frankfurt.