Audi in high gear as sales grow 31.6%

Sales by German premium carmaker Audi AG grew almost a third in the first 10 months of this year in China, its biggest single market in the world.

The Audi sales division at Sino-German joint venture FAW Volkswagen Automobile Co said that the brand moved 330,582 cars in China from January to October, a surge of 31.6 percent over the corresponding period last year.

The figure is 20,000 units more than the brand's sales in China for all of 2011.

In October alone, Audi's China sales jumped by 29.6 percent to 35,630 units.

The Audi sales division said the performance is "really commendable" amid a slowdown in the overall car market in China and massive price cuts by competitors.

In the first 10 months, overall vehicle sales in China climbed just 3.56 percent to 15.7 million units, according to data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.

Audi's three locally made models -the A6L large-sized sedan, A4L mid-sized sedan and Q5 mid-sized sports-utility vehicle - remain its biggest sellers in China.

Sales of the A6L in October totaled almost 12,000 units. The brand sold 8,208 units of the A4L and 8,109 of Q5 model last month. All three are produced at joint venture FAW Volkswagen's plants in the northeastern city of Changchun.

Sales of Audi's imported lineup in China also soared, up by 35.4 percent to 7,325 vehicles.

Yesterday Audi launched a China edition of its imported high-performance R8 car in Shanghai. The model with Chinese characters on its gear lever retails at 2.628 million yuan.

The company said only 80 of the China edition R8 will be sold.

The model is equipped with a 5.2-liter V10 FSI engine and R tronic transmission. It generates maximum power of 386kW/8000rpm and boasts top torque of 530Nm/6500rpm. It accelerates from zero to 100km/h in only 3.9 seconds and has a extreme speed of 316km/h.

In the first 10 months of this year, Audi's global sales rose by 12.9 percent to 1.22 million units.

gongzhengzheng@chinadaily.com.cn