Audi has succeeded in increasing sales for the eleventh year in succession, selling 779,441 vehicles to customers worldwide in 2004. This is equivalent to an increase of 1.2 percent.

According to Ralph Weyler, Member of the Board for Marketing and Sales at AUDI AG: “In recent months we have presented new models in key model lines. We are consequently able to offer our customers the youngest fleet in the premium segment. And for this reason we have our sights set on a new sales record again in 2005.”

To help achieve its goal, Audi will also be exhausting market potential more intensively and opening up new markets. In early March, for example, it will be opening its first two dealerships in India.

Record figures were recorded in 21 of the 50 or so largest sales markets. The top growth regions include Eastern Europe (+19.3 percent), Africa (+17.2 percent) and the Middle East sales region (+58.5 percent).

Audi boosted sales in Western Europe by 2.1 percent to 559,428 cars. Of this total, 235,092 models were sold in Germany (-1.1 percent). One of the individual markets with the highest growth rate is Great Britain, where Audi sales have more than doubled in just seven years. This market expanded by 11.1 percent to 77,882 units in 2004 alone. Spain (+6.4 percent to 43,764 cars) and Belgium (+11.9 percent to 21,509 cars) also recorded above-average sales increases.

In the Netherlands 15,038 (+5.4 percent) new cars were sold, 6,563 (+5.8 percent) in Denmark and 5,342 (+23.9 percent) in Norway.

The USA remains the biggest export market with sales of 77,917 (-9.8 percent) cars. China set a new sales record of 64,018 (+0.8 percent) units, while Japan increased its total to 13,751 (+4.7 percent) cars.

Of the indidivual models, the Audi A3 enjoyed the highest growth rate with worldwide sales totalling 179,963 (+18.8 percent) units, followed by the Audi A8 with 22,775 (+16.1 percent) and the Audi A6 with 189,049 (+6.9 percent) units sold. This is despite the launch of the new A6 saloon and Avant models being as late in the year as last November. There were 310,458 unit sales of the Audi A4 (-5.6 percent) sold worldwide. The new A4 is now on sale in Europe.