Audi reports sales record in 2014

The annual sales volume of German car producer Audi AG hit a new record in 2014 since it was founded in 1909, the Ingolstadt-based company announced Friday in a statement.

The four rings exceeded its goal of 1.7 million deliveries in 2014, handing over about 1,741,100 cars to customers, registering a year-on-year increase of 10.5 percent, according to the statistics released in the statement.

The company welcomed about 165,600 new customers, the second-highest increase in its history.

In addition, Audi continued to post double-digit growth in December, and it finished the year with sales up by 14.7 percent to around 150,000 units, Audi reported.

In China, Audi's sales continued to grow by 17.7 percent to 578,932 cars in 2014. In December alone, Audi handed over 62,576 automobiles to Chinese customers and registered the highest monthly sales total in its history.

"2014 is an impressive evidence of Audi brand's strength. We accomplished a very successful record year even before the second stage of our model initiative," said Rupert Stadler, chairman of the board of management, adding "conditions in many markets meanwhile continue to be challenging."