Audi with record sales in China
Ingolstadt (ots)
* Last year's result already exceeded by August * FAW-Volkswagen joint venture celebrates ten-year anniversary * Premiere of the Audi A8 L 6.0 quattro at the International Automobile Exhibition in Changchun * China is Audi's largest market outside Europe after the USA
Audi's success in China remains undiminished. With more than 20,000 cars delivered to customers, the sales success for the whole of last year (2000: 17,451 cars sold) has already been clearly exceeded in the first eight months of the current year. Around 11,000 cars were sold in the same period last year.
Dr. Franz-Josef Paefgen, Chairman of AUDI AG's Board of Management, stated at the Automobile Exhibition in Changchun: "With the Audi A6, the most modern and advanced model in the premium segment, we have succeeded as the only manufacturer in further developing a current model for the Chinese market." According to Dr. Paefgen, this lead now has to be extended further. China is already one of the most important export markets for AUDI AG.
The rapid growth of Audi's image and its position in the Chinese market is the result of successful co-operation since 1989, initially in the form of a joint venture project with the Chinese First Automobile Works (FAW) for the manufacture of the Audi 100, then Audi's participation in the FAW-VOLKSWAGEN joint venture to manufacture the Audi 200.
The FAW-Volkswagen joint venture, in which Audi has a 10 percent share, is celebrating its ten-year anniversary today. As Erich Schmitt, Member of the Board of Management of AUDI AG and responsible for the company's activities in China, explained: "Audi's participation in the joint venture laid the foundations for the successful market launch of the Audi A6 in the year 2000."
A positive trend that Audi hopes to maintain in the future. This is emphasised by its presence at the International Automobile Exhibition, the third largest automobile exhibition in China, which starts today in Changchun (Jilin province). Audi is showing the A8 L 6.0 quattro (Audi A8 with twelve-cylinder engine) there for the first time, and plans its market introduction for the end of this year.
Development of the exclusive Audi dealer network in China also continues to gather pace. There are now 41 Audi dealers serving customers in all the major Chinese cities. In the words of Dr. Georg Flandorfer, Member of the Board for Sales and Marketing at AUDI AG: "By the end of the year, the number of exclusive dealerships will have risen further to 51 in 36 Chinese cities."
Audi is an international developer and manufacturer of high-quality cars. In 2000 the company sold more than 650,000 Audi cars and generated sales revenues of DM 39 billion. The Audi Group currently has more than 50,000 employees.
Communication: Corporate and Finance (International) Jürgen De Graeve, Tel: ++ 49 (0) 841 89 34084 e-mail: juergen.degraeve@audi.de
Original-Content von: Audi AG, übermittelt durch news aktuell