Audi AG Sales Rose 17 Percent in April

Audi AG, China's leading luxury brand, says sales rose 17 percent in April to 45,216 units on strong demand for its Q line of SUVs. Rising demand from Chinese customers and strengthening markets lifted German luxury car sales to record levels in April. Audi has passed BMW in sales to take lead in luxury-car sales in China in March. Last month, sales of the Audi Q3, Q5 and Q7 collectively rose 43 percent year-on-year to 16,910 units. Audi sold a record 124,520 vehicles in China in the first quarter. That’s nearly a third of its quarterly sales worldwide.  

 

For the first four months, Audi sales have risen nearly 20 percent to 169,736 units. The company has maintained its sales lead over rivals BMW AG and Daimler AG, which have not yet reported April sales. Audi's corporate parent, Volkswagen AG, said VW-brand sales in China jumped 28 percent in April to 238,700 units. Last year, Volkswagen overtook General Motors and re-established itself as China's biggest foreign automaker, with sales of 3.27 million units to GM's 3.1 million units.

 

Demand in China for cars is up nearly 10%, and that compares with strong markets last year and the year before, said analyst Stephen Reitman at Societe Generale. The Chinese government’s recent 7.5 percent economic growth objective for this year is expected to underpin demand.