Luxury carmaker Audi saw sales and profits rise in the first four months of the year and still expects stable earnings in 2004, the Volkswagen unit reportedly said.
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“Despite all the market difficulties, Audi has achieved record sales, profits, deliveries and production in this third of the year,” Martin Winterkorn, head of the division told Audi’s annual shareholder meeting, according to Reuters.
Revenues were about 7% above the level seen in the same period last year, he reportedly added, saying that Audi expected its ninth record year in a row in 2004.
A company spokesman told the news agency the outlook for a record year referred to unit sales and revenues and repeated that for earnings Audi still expects stable profitability for the year as a whole.
The Audi group of brands, which also includes the SEAT and Lamborghini marques, earlier this month reported a 4.1% rise in vehicle sales for the first four months of the year, Reuters noted.
The news agency said a slump in earnings at parent Volkswagen last year has helped make Audi the main source of profits at Europe’s biggest car maker – with €1.12 billion ($US1.32 billion) in operating profit in 2003, Audi generated nearly twice as much as the bigger VW brand.
Winterkorn reportedly said that Audi would present six concepts for new cars within the next three years as the company strives to hit its long-term target of selling a million cars a year – Audi sold 769,893 vehicles in 2003.
In the meantime, the main growth drivers this year will be the recently relaunched A6 executive saloon and a five-door version of the redesigned A3 hatchback which is due to appear in showrooms later this year, Reuters added.
