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Audi planning to sell half million cars in China

Beijing, April 19, 2014

Volkswagen's luxury division Audi plans to sell about half a million cars this year in China, the world's biggest car market, a report said.

The company also hopes to raise the number of its Chinese dealers to 500 by 2017, according to the report in the Gulf Daily News, our sister publication.

The German carmaker hopes its vehicle sales will exceed 500,000 this year, executives said yesterday before the Beijing auto show, which opens tomorrow.

Foreign carmakers, such as General Motors Company and Toyota Motor Corporation, and domestic players such as SAIC Motor Corporation have been competing aggressively in China, where rising affluence is boosting car ownership.

"This country has an increasing number of mega cities," Audi chief executive Rupert Stadler said, naming Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou as examples. "In these three areas, there are as many people as, for example, in Germany."

In 2013, Audi sold 488,000 vehicles in China and a total of 492,000 including Hong Kong.

Executives said it aimed to take advantage of the increasing popularity of SUVs and rising demand for compact premium cars.

China's car market is expected to grow 8-10 per cent this year, easing from last year when it expanded 13.9pc to 21.98 million vehicles.

Audi is stepping up efforts to unseat German rival BMW as global luxury car sales leader.

Recovering European demand and Chinese growth pushed its deliveries to a record in the January-March quarter.

Audi's total deliveries rose 11.7pc to 412,850 cars, with a 21pc gain in China after the carmaker started assembly of the A3 sportback model at a factory in Foshan in late 2013. – TradeArabia News Service




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