Audi’s four rings seem to be quite the hit under China’s five stars. During the first three months of 2008 Volkswagen’s German up-market brand saw sales jump 25% compared with the same quarter of 2007. 30,425 vehicles over three months in the world’s most populated nation may not sound overly significant, but China is still emerging as a marketplace and Audi isn’t exactly marketing ‘basic’ automobiles.
Audi is being helped by Russia’s newfound wealth, as well. Growth in the world’s largest nation hasn’t taken Audi to great Chinese-like heights, but excelled at an even greater rate during January, February, and March. 3,880 Audis were bought at Russian Audi dealers, up 29% from the same period of 2007.
Assuming equivalent growth, Audi’s Chinese sales would be around 38,031 in the early part of 2009. Audi’s uptake in Russia would climb to 5,005. This equals over 170,000 sales for Audi in 2009 in two countries that would’ve seemed oh-so-unlikely just 5-10 years ago.
