Audi Surpasses 2009 Sales Target

In a type of announcement we don't get to see every day, German carmaker Audi stepped in and told the world that it has exceeded the sales forecast for 2009 (after it upgraded it in mid year) and sold 949,700 cars worldwide last year. This means Audi sales dropped only 5.4 percent on the 2008 record figure (1,003,469 vehicles).

“We are making a lively start 2010 and aim to deliver one million cars again,” upert Stadler, Chairman of the Board of Management of Audi said in a release.

Taken by regions, China clearly distinguished itself with an increase over 2008 of no less than 32.9 percent to 158,941 vehicles. In December, Audi achieved an impressive sales growth of 75.6 percent in China, with a total of 19,069 units sold.

In the United States, Audi dropped only 5.7 percent the whole year, to 82,716 vehicles sold. Thanks to the fact that the overall market in the US dropped, Audi now benefits from a bigger market share than in 2008.

In Europe, the brand experienced the biggest slide, with a decrease of 12.8 percent bringing the total number of cars sold to 618,850.

“That is a very good tally compared with our competitors. With deliveries to customers totaling around 618,850, we are taking the lead as Europe’s strongest premium brand,” Peter Schwarzenbauer, Member of the Board of Management for Marketing and Sales added.

In its home country, Audi sold 228,844 units, a decrease of 11.3 percent over 2008.