Audi Convertibles Leading the Way in 400,000+ Sales Quarter

The Volkswagen Group continues to see growth with a fast-paced quarter at Audi AG.

During March, Audi AG saw global sales increase by 15.4% to about 170,450 cars—more cars delivered to customers than ever before in a single month, and the 51st consecutive month with global sales growth. China (+36.6%), Germany (+10.2%) and the United Kingdom (+12.7%) had particularly high growth over the last month. And, sales chief Luca de Meo reported that growth in Europe was actually stronger than the market.

With overall sales increasing by 11.7% in the first quarter to about 412.850 units, this was the first time the company has exceeded the 400,000 mark in the first three months. De Meo, Member of the Board of Management for Sales at Audi AG, explained the significance of the period for Audi AG:

In March we achieved a double best figure, completing the most successful first quarter in our company history with the strongest sales month ever. With new models like the A3 Sedan the internationalization of our business is gaining momentum. In the first quarter we achieved substantial growth in all regions around the world and grew more strongly than the market in Europe.

Convertibles in particular saw great March momentum, offering a good kick-start to the spring season: The A5 Cabriolet (+8.3%) and the TT Roadster (+22.6%) achieved a significant global increase year-on-year. The new A3 Cabriolet arrived at dealers in the first markets. The A3 Sportback g-tron also celebrated its premiere at dealers in March. For the entire A3 family, sales figures climbed by 52.5% to around 28,750 cars last month. The Q7 (+39%) and the A8 (+49%) achieved the strongest growth among the brand’s full-size models.

In Europe, Audi concluded March with an increase of 7.2% across all models to around 88,750 cars sold. In addition to renewed high growth in Germany (+10.2% to 27,226 cars), the two largest European export markets in particular provided a further boost: 28,068 units were delivered in the United Kingdom, a 12.7% year-on-year increase; the 5,425 cars sold in France represent a 5.1% increase. As the region’s leading premium brand, Audi sales in Europe thus totaled around 200,350 cars for the quarter, 6.8% more than one year ago.

Among the large markets in Asia, South Korea also spearheaded the dynamic growth for Audi in March, where sales increased by 82.0% to 2,457 cars. Audi has seen sales increase here by 54.5% to 6,815 units since the start of the year. In China, strong demand for Audi’s full-size models fueled sales in March: The A6, A7, Q7 and A8 achieved combined growth of 38.3%. Across all models, the delivery totals in the Middle Kingdom came to 47,636 cars, a 36.6% increase year-on-year. Cumulative total sales of 124,520 vehicles delivered since January represent an increase of 21.1%.

In the United States, Audi increased sales to 14,246 units, a 7.5% increase on the March 2013 level. In particular, far more customers opted for the Q7 full-size SUV (+45.8%) than was the case one year previously. As such, Audi of America has 35,228 delivered cars on its books in the first quarter, an increase of 3.0%. Bringing a new important addition to Audi’s U.S. portfolio, the A3 Sedan is launched this month. The model has already entered successfully the market in Brazil where Audi achieved three-figure growth rates also in March (+137.0% to 891 cars).

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