Audi AG makes history by overtaking Mercedes-Benz in global sales for the first time. The Ingolstadt-based carmaker was able to roll out 264,100 vehicles for the first quarter of 2010 while Mercedes-Benz moved 248,500 units. The Q1 achievement is an improvement of 25.9% compared to the sales figures of for the first quarter of last year.
The goal of Audi is to become the leading luxury car manufacturer in the global market by 2015 and during which they should be selling about 1.5 million cars annually.
Audi ranked third in sales for premium new cars sales in 2009 with Mercedes taking the second podium next to the top spot earned by BMW.
According to experts, Mercedes-Benz might have tough time trying to regain the number two spot this year with the way things are going. Audi, at the very least should get the second spot. Audi executives expect a continuous upward trend on their sales graphs for the rest of the year.
The primary factor for Audi outpacing Mercedes is the dominance of the brand in China. From January to March, Audi was able to sell 51,449 cars in China. Mercedes was only able to sell half of that figure or 24,100 units while BMW had Q1 sales of 34,179 according to BMW Talk.
The global sales of Audi for March were pegged at 110,400 units which is a 22.2% jump year in year out. The Q1 of last year witness a big drop in demand for the luxury segment due to the recession.