Dubai: German car manufacturer Audi increased Middle East sales to 562 cars in May, a growth of 36.1 per cent over the same month last year. Year-to-date sales rose 9.8 per cent to 2,682 cars in the region, the company said yesterday.
Best selling models in Audi's Middle East region, which comprises the Gulf and Levant countries but excludes North Africa, were the Q7, Q5 and A6, spokeswoman Karin Haferkorn told Gulf News. The strongest country in terms of sales was the UAE, followed by Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. In the UAE, Audi reached an increase in sales of 18.3 per cent in May.
"Our sales expectations for the full year 2010 are very positive," Haferkorn said. "We're in line with reaching this year's sales target of 6,500 cars."
High expectations are pinned on the new A8 limousine, which will be introduced in the region at the end of the year, she added. The small Audi A1 will arrive in the Middle East in early 2011. Worldwide sales of Audi increased by 14.6 per cent in May, the company said. With around 94,900 units last month, the number of Audi cars sold so far this year has increased to about 455,700, a rise of 21.7 per cent.
Audi recorded growth in all regions, achieving the biggest increases in the company's most important export markets of China, Great Britain and the United States.
