Audi AG to sell one million luxury cars in 2008

Volkswagen AG, a German car giant, announced that Audi AG, its division of luxury and sports cars, was about to sel one million cars in 2008.

Photo: Audi AG to sell one million luxury cars in 2008

Audi sold 88,200 vehicles in May, an 0.8 percent increase compared with May a year ago, Volkswagen said.

In the first five months of the year, the company said it sold 426,000 Audi vehicles, an increase of 1.5 percent driven mainly by growth in the Asian-Pacific region and eastern European countries.

"We have set a sales target of 1 million vehicles for 2008, expecting strong year-on-year growth in the second half of the year," Audi Chairman Rupert Stadler said. "With the sales figures for the first five months, we are already ahead of schedule."

May sales in the Asia-Pacific grew by more than 22 percent to 12,600 vehicles, compared with 10,312 sold during May a year ago. Sales in the month were up 26 percent in China, the largest foreign market for Ingolstadt-based Audi.

In the first five months, sales in the Asia-Pacific region grew more than 20 percent to approximately 65,000 vehicles, compared with 53,879 in 2007.

May sales in eastern Europe increased nearly 9 percent to 3,550 vehicles. In the January-May period, the company sold more than 18,300 vehicles there, a 13.5 percent increase.

Audi shares were trading up 0.2 percent at Ђ566.02 (US$879.09), while Volkswagen shares were up 0.4 percent at EUR 173.53 (US$269.51) in Frankfurt afternoon trading.