Dominique Boesch, chief of the Audi sales division at FAW Volkswagen, at a ceremony for the China launch of Audi's smallest model, the A1, which hit the market last week.  Photos provided to China Daily

Luxury car leader on track for a banner year in 2011

BEIJING - German luxury carmaker Audi AG is on track to another banner year in China with its highest-ever September sales of 29,188 vehicles.

It has reported record monthly sales for seven consecutive months this year in the country's premium car market.

And by the first week of October, the carmaker had sold more cars in China than it did last year, according to the Audi Sales Division at Sino-German joint venture FAW Volkswagen Automobile Co. The brand moved 225,588 cars in 2010.

Globally, Audi ranked No 2 in the premium segment in the first nine months following BMW.

It sold 973,200 vehicles worldwide in the first three quarters of 2011, a 17 percent increase over the same period last year.

It aims to sell some 300,000 vehicles in China by the end of the year, to clearly retain its leadership in the premium segment in the country.

Audi now builds the A4L, A6L sedan and Q5 SUV at its plant of FAW Volkswagen in northeast China's Changchun city.

The joint venture plans to more than double its annual production capacity to 700,000 Audis by 2015, with 500,000 units from the Changchun plant and 200,000 units from a newly approved facility in South China's Guangdong province.

The Audi A6L was again the best seller among all Audi models in September with 9,921 units delivered. More than 8,500 Audi A4L sedans and over 5,000 Q5 SUVs were sold in the same period.

With a wide lead in locally made vehicles, the company is now working hard to expand its product portfolio and increase the proportion of imported vehicles in its China sales.

Sales of imported Audi cars totaled 40,500 units in the first nine months this year, a 68 percent surge over a year ago.

More than 1,400 of its imported flagship A8L sedan were sold in China last month, doubling the figure from the same month a year ago.

Its top-of-the-line SUV Q7 registered sales of about 1,600 units, a surge of 84 percent over a year earlier. The Audi TT sports car also saw sales double in September to nearly 3,000 units.

Last week the smallest Audi model, the A1, hit the Chinese market with tag price from 224,800 to 289,800 yuan.

Equipped with 1.4L TFSI engine that delivers maximum output of 90 kW and an S-tronic dual-clutch transmission, the A1 can accelerate from zero to 100 km/h in 8.9 seconds to a top speed of 203 km/h. Average fuel consumption of the car is just 5.5 liters every 100 km.

Diverse customized options are one of the biggest attractions for the model that mainly targets young buyers. Twelve body colors and various accessories are available.

The company also plans to soon introduce its A7 Sportback to China. Audi will have its entire lineup on the Chinese market by 2015, the company said earlier this year.

China Daily

(China Daily 10/17/2011 page18)