According to Dr. Franz-Josef Paefgen, Chairman of the Board of Management of AUDI AG, the company remains firmly on course for success in 1998.

"The TT Coupé, which went on sale in Germany on Friday October 30, 1998 and will be available throughout Western Europe in a few weeks’ time, will add to this encouraging growth trend," Dr Paefgen said.

"We are likewise targeting a significant increase in profits and return on sales for 1998."

In 1997, Audi recorded unit sales of 546,436 cars, pre-tax profits of DM 1,112 million and a pre-tax sales return of 5.0 per cent.

By the end of September 1998, worldwide vehicle sales had risen 8.4 per cent to a total of 446,208 units, compared with 411,804 units for the corresponding period, January to September 1997.

According to Dr Paefgen, the future for Audi is looking extremely promising, with 1999 expected to further establish the company’s market position.

"As regards Audi’s future, I am confident that we are once again capable of achieving respectable overall results next year. We will continue to extend our model range and are making high investments in order to cement our strong market position," said Dr Paefgen.

Vehicle and engine production
Production output for the first nine months of the year totalled 453,213 vehicles, a 9.2 per cent increase on last year. Engine production also registered a significant increase with 910,698 units manufactured, a 70.7 per cent jump on last year’s figure of 533,412 engines.

New car deliveries
In Western Europe (excluding Germany), 197,309 Audi vehicles were delivered to their new owners, a 17.9 per cent increase on the 167,372 cars delivered to September 1997.

In Germany, 177,719 cars were handed over to their new owners, a marginal 2 per cent fall from 1997, according to Dr Franz-Joseph Paefgen.

"This year we are placing the emphasis on major export markets, apart from Asia. In Germany, sales for 1998 will remain at the high level achieved in the previous year," Dr Paefgen said.

The market share in Germany was 6.4 per cent for the first nine months of the year. The market share in Western Europe, including Germany, remained steady at 3.4 per cent.

Several markets showed significant growth rates on 1997 including:

Spain - up 25.8 per cent to 25,387 units,

France - up 21.8 per cent to 23,359 units,

Italy - up 20.2 per cent to 34,471 units,

Great Britain - up 15.6 per cent to 33,580 units,

USA - up 29.6 per cent to 32,305 cars.

In the rest of the world, vehicle sales for the first nine months of the year amounted to 31,782 units, up by 6.4 per cent.

In Australia, Audi continues to show a steady increase with vehicle sales up around five per cent, compared with year-to-date figures for 1997.

Sales revenue
Sales revenue for the Audi Group (excluding Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. and Cosworth Technology Ltd.) rose by 21.5 per cent to DM 19.8 billion.

This disproportionately high increase in sales revenue compared with unit sales can be mainly attributed to substantial growth in the luxury market segments. For example, vehicle sales of the A6 in the first nine months of the year rose by 49 per cent compared with the prior-year period to 120,466. Sales of the A8 were up by 11 per cent to 12,047 vehicles.

Capital investment
Capital investments increased by a healthy 64.2 per cent to DM 1.895 billion. The development of new products, such as the Al2 and the ‘allroad quattro’, accounted for two-thirds of this total. The remaining one-third has been devoted to major projects such as a new paint shop and a new toolmaking shop in Ingolstadt.

Employment
From the beginning of 1998 to September 30, 1998 Audi created 3,519 new jobs, bringing the total up 9.1 per cent to 41,939 people employed by the company at September 30, 1998.