Audi sales in China rise, plans to boost production
July 4, 2008 10:00 CET
FRANKFURT (Reuters) -- Premium luxury automaker Audi AG, posted a 23 percent rise in first-half sales to China, delivering a record 60,509 luxury cars to customers thanks mainly to rising demand for its high-end exported models.
"We are extremely satisfied with the positive development in our second home market and will continue to enlarge our production capacity," Audi CEO Rupert Stadler said in a statement on Friday.
While sales of its locally produced long-wheelbase version of the A6 rose 18 percent to 42,969 cars and the Chinese-made A4 posted a 20 percent rise to 10,819 units, growth rates for its larger, more luxurious models were even more robust.
The top of the line A8 sedan and Q7 full-size SUV, both imported into China, saw demand surge.
A total of 2,431 units of the A8 were sold, 50 percent more than the previous period, while Q7 deliveries rose 90 percent in the first half to 2,663 units.