Audi posts record sales despite economic downturn

The global economic crisis may have placed many carmakers on the proverbial knife's edge in regards to their financials, but German luxury marque Audi is expecting to have another year of record growth. Sales of Audi models are expected to exceed one million units this year, and from this it would appear that Audi's goal of selling 1.5 million vehicles by 2015 is well in reach.

Speaking with Automotive News Europe, Audi's rather tactful CEO Rupert Stadler discussed the impacts that the global economic crisis has had on Audi, and despite its success for this year he emphasized that the conditions has affected everyone in some way. Citing Audi's success due to its young model lineup, which includes the new Q5 and a few other models, Stadler was proud of the company's range of cars that were proving to be popular with consumers even during a market downturn.

Despite Audi's current success, it is still reliant in a number of areas of production on a single supplier for essential components. When asked what would happen if one of these suppliers were to collapse, Stadler admitted that like many companies Audi would be put in a difficult position. The complexity of the auto industry means that Audi must stay on its feet and detect early warning signs to protect it from situations such as that, he explained.

Additionally, Audi, which is a part of the Volkswagen Group, is now coming under the Porsche umbrella due to the sports carmaker’s impending takeover Volkswagen Speaking about Audi's relationship with Porsche, Stadler remarked that both manufacturers were sharing expertise and knowledge with one another amicably, and that the relationship was expected to continue.