Audi August Sales, Almost Level

German manufacturer Audi is as close as it can of posting a positive sales figure, when compared to 2008. The group reported a drop of only 2.7 percent in August, when compared the the same month of last 2008. Even if, some may argue, last August saw the first signs of the economic downturn in the industry, hence lower sales, Audi's new numbers leave room for hope.

“We set ourselves a sales target of 900,000 cars this year, thus achieving a better trend than the overall market,” Peter Schwarzenbauer, Audi member of the board said in a release. “This target we are certain to reach, and we will emerge from this crisis as the strongest premium brand.”

Audi sold 65,900 vehicles in August, bringing the total number of vehicles sold from year-to-date to 616,850.

Needless to say, the Asia-Pacific region (read China) leads the way for Audi's road to recovery. Sales figures in August for the entire region rose by 33 percent to about 16,500 cars, with China alone managing to boost its Audi appetite by 35.4 percent.

In the US, fed by the Car Allowance Rebate System frenzy, which awakened the dormant shoppers, Audi sales bloomed: 25.8 percent over the numbers reported in August 2008. Even so, CARS per se did not help the manufacturer much, as it sold some 700-800 vehicles under the program.

“The right models, significant investments in the dealership network, focused marketing activities – we put everything into boosting our brand’s potential in the United States last year,” Schwarzenbauer added. “Now this is paying off in significant gains in market share, in better brand awareness and image levels, and in healthy, profitable sales growth.”