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This story is from Auto News Europe, so it's hard to tell how things are over here .......

Audi H1 revenues down 1.4%
Reuters / June 27, 2002

NECKARSULM, Germany -- Volkswagen's luxury car unit Audi said on Thursday that first-half revenues fell 1.4 percent to 11.26 billion euros ($11 billion) and forecast stagnant vehicle sales for 2002.

The unit, which controls VW's Audi and Lamborghini marques, is a key barometer for Volkswagen. Last year its Audi brand sales increased 8.7 percent and accounted for a quarter of VW's operating profit.

"There is no definite improvement to be expected in the market in the second half of the year. It is our goal to achieve last year's record level," Audi chief Martin Winterkorn said in a speech at the company's annual shareholder meeting.

Winterkorn said Audi had sold 383,500 vehicles in the first six months of the year, up four percent on the same period of 2001 -- implying that the group expects sales to drop compared to last year in the second half.

But he said: "We are better than the general trend in all the important markets."

Audi said the decline in first-half sales revenues was due to weakness at VW's Italian importer Autogerma, which deals with all VW and Lamborghini sales and was consolidated into the Audi unit in 2000.

Under a plan to sharpen distinction between VW brands, Audi is to oversee Spanish VW unit SEAT as part of a "sporty" group of brands, while the VW brand will be in charge of a more conservative group, including Skoda and Bentley.