AUDI AG continues worldwide growth in October

• Global deliveries up 10.8 percent to around 146,200 cars
• Sales chief Luca de Meo: “Sales increase in all regions around the globe”
• New Audi TT arriving at dealers

Ingolstadt – AUDI AG started the fourth quarter of the year with significant sales growth: in October, deliveries worldwide showed a year-on-year increase of 10.8 percent to around 146,200 cars. Cumulatively, Audi sales since January have risen by 10.1 percent to about 1,444,900 units. In the past month, the three major export markets for the four rings made a particularly strong contribution, with growth rates well into the double digits: China up 17.0 percent, the United States up 16.5 percent and the United Kingdom up 22.1 percent.

“This good start to the final quarter keeps Audi on track for a successful 2014,” says Luca de Meo, Member of the Board of Management for Sales at AUDI AG. “Audi achieves growth in all regions worldwide and we are selling more cars than ever before in Europe as well.”

While the European market as a whole still lags well behind the pre‑crisis level of 2007, Audi registered a new record high in that region with around 655,100 deliveries from January through October. In the past month, Audi handed over some 65,100 cars to their new owners in Europe, up 5.4 percent on one year earlier. Its SUV bestseller, the Q5, saw demand jump significantly by 22.6 percent. Among the region’s major sales markets, especially Belgium (+11.9% to 2,725 cars), Spain (+21.3% to 3,139 cars) and again the United Kingdom showed a strong performance: For Audi UK, sales climbed 22.1 percent to 12,721 cars in October. In its German home market, where Audi has increased deliveries by 3.5 percent to 220,948 units since the beginning of the year, the premium manufacturer concluded the month of October on the previous year’s level (+0.5% to 22,905 cars). Amid the difficult market environment in Russia, the deliveries total of 2,624 for October was 15.8 percent below the same month last year. With sales declining 5.8 percent to 28,348 units since January, business for Audi however remains much more stable than the Russian market as a whole.

Recent months have seen several medium‑sized high-potential markets for AUDI AG on all continents achieve greater prominence within the overall sales profile. This trend was maintained in October especially by Japan (+14.9% to 1,976 cars), Australia (+27.0% to 1,627 cars) and Canada (+28.1% to 2,497 cars). In all these markets, Audi now serves approximately twice the number of customers it did just five years ago. In Turkey, the company’s sales volume has even tripled over the same period – the October tally of 1,453 deliveries was a 35.7 percent progress on the prior‑year month. The company also maintained its high speed in Brazil (+84.5% to 1,201 cars), meaning that demand for Audi in that market has doubled within the space of one year to 10,866 units sold.

Of the major sales regions for the four rings, growth statistics for October were led by North America, where sales increased by 17.3 percent to 18,595 cars. The United States alone contributed 15,150 customers, a rise of 16.5 percent. Business for Audi of America was driven by high growth rates for the Q7 full‑size SUV as well as the A3 and Q3 compact models that have been introduced this year. In China, AUDI AG has also extended successfully its market position in the premium compact segment of late. The company maintained its double‑digit growth in China last month, increasing sales across all models by 17.0 percent to 48,108 vehicles.

In addition to the A3 and Q3 models that are now available in all major markets, the Q5 midsize SUV played an important role in the positive global sales result for October: Around 22,100 customers and therefore 11.4 percent more than in October 2013 received the keys for their Q5 worldwide. Since its market introduction at the end of 2008, the model has increased its sales total steadily year by year and has been number one in its premium segment without interruption since 2009. At the end of this October, dealers in the first European markets also saw the new Audi TT making its debut in the showrooms. Since 1998 and over the first two generations of this design icon, Audi has already sold more than 510,000 TT across all model variants.