After record sales throughout 2011 Audi sets its sights on BMW's China share, while Toyota also records strong sales so far this year.
German luxury carmaker Audi AG has reported its highest-ever September sales of 29,188 vehicles, after record sales for seven consecutive months in China's premium car market. Preliminary reports from the sales division of the Sino-German joint venture FAW Volkswagen Automobile Co. show that October has also been a profitable month. Globally, Audi ranks No 2 behind BMW with sales of 973,200 vehicles in the first three quarters, a 17% increase from the year before.
The Audi A6L was Audi's top seller with 9,900 sold in September alone, followed closely by the Audi A4L with 8,500 sedans sold. SUV and TT sales figures also remain strong. Recently, the company has introduced the smallest model, the A1, to the Chinese market with a price tag of 224,800 to 289,800 yuan ($35,400 to $45,600 and hopes to have its entire lineup on the Chinese market by 2015.
Audi's annual production capacity currently stands at 300,000 units, but it plans to more than double that figure to 700,000 units by 2015, with 500,000 units coming from the Changchun plant and a further 200,000 from a newly approved facility in south China's Guangdong province. Although no specific figures for 2012 sales have been announced, Audi China President Dietmar Voggenreiter said he was “optimistic” about continued growth.
The automaker is relying on China, currently its largest market, to help it overtake BMW AG global sales by 2015, and hopes to target young families buying premium cars to help it increase its one third market share in China, as well as continuing to grow its main base of upper middle-management customers, according to Voggenreiter. Currently, Audi sales make up one third of all luxury car sales in China, outselling both BMW AG and Daimler AG's Mercedes Benz.
Meanwhile, Toyota Motor Corp. has announced a 33% increase in October sales to 81,600 vehicles, putting it right on target to reach its 2011 sales goal of 900,000 units, though company spokesman Takanor Yokoi claimed it will “still be very close.”
Sales rose consistently throughout the first ten months of the year by 7.8% to 693,000 vehicles. Last year, the Japanese auto giant sold over 846,000 units in China.
Despite being disrupted by the March earthquake, which hindered production at Toyota's Chinese plants by more than 50% and caused numerous supply chain issues, Yokoi told the media that vehicle production had since recovered. Yokoi also stated that the company had “been able to build up some vehicle stock for sales” which has allowed most dealers to operate normally after the disaster.