Good times roll for luxury carmakers

5 January 2004

DETROIT – Evidence of a global economic rebound might still be emerging but already leading German luxury carmakers appear to be enjoying more prosperous times.

On the weekend Porsche said it boosted its turnover in 2003 by 33 per cent in North America, its most important market, the firm announced late Sunday.

Issuing the sales data at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan, the heart of the US car industry, the sports-car manufacturer sold 30,028 vehicles, its second-best year ever in the United States, Canada and Mexico, said Peter Schwarzenbauer, head of Porsche’s North American subsidiary.

For the 12 months ending on 31 July the firm expects to sell 35,000 cars in North America. Five months into the current budget year, the subsidiary has seen an increase of 67 percent in unit sales.

Meanwhile, Audi, reported Sunday that its worldwide sales reached 767,000 vehicles in 2003, an increase of 3.4 percent from a year earlier.

Also releasing the data in Detroit, Michigan, the Volkswagen subsidiary said that its turnover rose by 60 percent in China, along with less dramatic improvements in Japan and Western European markets including Britain, Spain and Italy.

DPA
Subject: German news