German automaker Audi has made a successful start to its 2010 fiscal year reporting 360,760 units sold in the first four months — a new record for the company.

In addition, the luxury car company says that it will be introducing 12 new products on the market this year, ranging from the new sporty urban small car — the A1, to the luxury A8 model, which has already enjoyed a very successful market launch.

ATL Autohaus, a member of the Gordon ‘Butch’ Stewart-owned ATL Group, represents Audi in Jamaica.

According to reports from Audi, the brand achieved double-digit growth rates in all its sales regions across the world in the first four months of the year.

Unit sales were 23.7 per cent up on the comparative period last year, the report said.

“We are making very good progress, and we will keep our foot on the accelerator,” said Rupert Stadler, chairman of the Board of Management at AUDI AG, at the company’s annual general meeting.

Stadler noted that in the second quarter 2010 Audi expects to see further growth, thanks to the new-generation A8, which has recently gone on sale.

“In the second half of the year our entry-level A1 model will deliver additional momentum,” Stadler added.

Other highlights of this year will be the world premiere of the Audi A7, marking Audi’s entry into the luxury-class coupe segment. More new offerings from Audi will include the new RS 5 and the Q5 hybrid, a full-hybrid model scheduled to be launched at the end of the year.

Audi officials declared that with qualitative growth, the company is continuing to pursue its goal of becoming the most successful premium brand. As part of its Strategy 2020, Audi is aiming to achieve a sustained return on investment of over 18 per cent and a return on sales before tax of over eight per cent.

The company’s global unit sales growth is also reflected in its financial performance indicators for the first quarter. Over the first three months of this year Audi generated revenue of Euro 8,260 million, up 23.3 per cent on last year, the Audi report said.

Operating profit rose more than 30 per cent to Euro 478 million (2009: ¤363 million), registering an increase well ahead of the rate of rise in revenue.

“This very good result impressively demonstrates the success of our efforts to optimise costs on a sustained basis at all our locations,” emphasised Axel Strotbek, board member for Finance and Organisation at AUDI AG. OA