Audi boosts European sales in September despite region's weak economy
Growth in China, United States also boosts brand
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MUNICH -- Audi bucked Europe's economic downturn by increasing sales in the region last month.
The brand's global vehicle sales grew by 13.6 percent to 136,600, helped by growth in Europe, the United States and China.
Audi said new models such as the A1 Sportback, Q3 and A6 Avant contributed to the brand's volume increase in Europe in September.
In the United States, the new-generation A4 and A5 models and high demand for the Q7 SUV boosted volume. Growth in China was helped by strong demand for SUVs and the brand's larger cars, especially the locally built A6 L, the automaker said.
"This year we reached the tally of 1 million cars sold after just nine months -- clear evidence that we are realizing our strategic goals," Luca de Meo, Audi's sales and marketing chief, said in a statement on Monday.
Audi's sales in Europe increased by 7.4 percent to 72,200 vehicles in September. The UK was Audi's biggest European market for the month with sales up 20 percent to 22,389, followed by Germany where sales increased 3.5 percent to 20,712.
Audi counts Russia in its European sales numbers and the brand's volume in the country grew 57 percent to 3,150. Sales were down nearly 13 percent in Spain, 16 percent in Italy and rose by 1.4 percent in France.
U.S. volume grew 26.5 percent to 12,302 units, while sales in China were up 20.5 percent to 35,512.
Audi's nine-month sales are up 12.8 percent to 1.1 million compared with the first three quarters of 2011.
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