Luxury German carmaker Audi AG raced ahead by 9.8 per cent to a hit a new record during the first six months of the year with the increase powered ahead by rapidly growing demand in key emerging markets such as Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Asia, REPORTED DPA. The surge in sales meant that the company, which is an offshoot of Volkswagen AG, breached the 500,000 mark for the first time in Audi's history with sales jumping by 11 per cent alone in June. "Against this background, our target for 2008 remains to sell one million vehicles," said Ralph Weyler, Audi board member for marketing and sales releasing the data. "Audi has made a successful start in markets such as India and is already exceptionally well positioned in growth regions such as the Middle East," Weyler said. While Audi sales in Europe rose 7.4 per cent and 13.3 per cent in North and South America in the first half compared with the same period in 2006, sales in Russia's first-moving economy soared by 76.3 per cent. June sales in Russia were up 72.1 per cent, the company said. The carmaker said sales in the Asia-Pacific region bounded ahead by 21.6 per cent in the first half underpinned by a 26.9 per cent jump in China, which is now Audi's second-biggest non-domestic market. A similar picture emerged in the Middle East, where Audi's sales rose 31.4 per cent.
