Crisis or no crisis, Audi managed to sell over one million cars in 2008 for the first time in its history. Despite the fact that 2008 was a very difficult year for automakers, VW Group's luxury brand sold 1,003,400 cars worldwide, increasing its sales volume by 4.1 percent over 2007 (964,151 units). In December, Audi increased its sales by 17.4 percent over the same month in 2007, to around 82,800 units (2007: 70,523). Over the past year, the Ingolstadt-based firm launched 12 new or upgraded models including the all-new A4 sedan, which was rolled out in Europe in November 2007, the A4 Avant that followed in April, the facelifted A3 and A6 models, as well as the brand-new Q5 SUV.
Regionally, in Western Europe Audi sold some 667,000 cars, 2.5 percent more than in the prior year (2007: 650,407). In the Asia-Pacific region, the German brand delivered new cars to around 155,100 customers, a 15.6 percent increase compared to 2007. As for the U.S., the firm's third-largest export market, Audi sold 87,760 cars in 2008 that amounts to a 6.1 percent drop from the prior year (2007: 93,506).
