Audi’s performance continued to fly in the face of global recession last year with figures released recently showing the German car giant once again grew sales across the globe in 2012, achieving increased total sales in all markets.
Helped in particular by models such as the Q3 SUV and the A6 Avant (soon to be succeeded by the new Audi RS6 Avant), the company recorded total worldwide sales of 1,455,100 premium vehicles, which translated into an 11.7 per cent increase on 2011 sales.
Although sales have held up in the company’s home market of Europe, it is results in other markets such as the US and China that have helped Audi record impressive figures. In the US, the car maker has increased deliveries by nearly 50 per cent since 2007 and chalked up record-breaking sales in every month of 2012 leading to a total of 139,310 vehicles shipped.
In China, sales growth has been even more spectacular. Just 12 months after crashing through the 300,000 vehicles mark, 2012 saw the company sell more than 400,000 cars to residents of the most populous country in the world, marking a 29.6 per cent increase year-on-year.
In Europe, tough trading in certain Eurozone countries including Spain and Italy was countered by better figures in the likes of France, Russia and the UK, with the latter growing 8.6 per cent to 123,622 vehicles. The company also recorded its highest market share ever in its home country of Germany with sales of 263,163 giving it 8.6 per cent of the market.
Further growth was recorded elsewhere, including increased sales in South Korea, South Africa, India and Turkey.
Commenting on his company’s latest figures, Luca de Meo, Member of the Board of Management of Audi AG for Sales and Marketing, said: “In 2012, Audi achieved new record totals in every region worldwide, including in Europe. We managed to buck the negative market trend and continued to grow there, extending our lead as the strongest premium brand.”