Porsche speeds towards 40%

Sales of Porsche Romania, domestic importer of VW-Audi group and Porsche brands, increased 38% in the first ten months of the year, up against the first nine months of the year, when the increase stood at 35.3%. Audi, the premium brand of the German group, witnessed a 42.7% increase against the same time last year, to 2,260 units. In December, Porsche Romania will deliver the first units of the A4, the medium-class model of Audi, which is forecast to sell 1,000 units in 2008. October also saw the first orders being made for the third generation A4, with their number set to reach 66, after the previous generation model sold out. Skoda reclaimed its position as the best-selling brand of the importer in the first ten months of the year, and sold 21,211 units, up 26.5% against the same time last year; a growth rate below that of the import market, which saw an over 52% increase, but comparable to the approximately 24% growth rate of the overall vehicle market in the first nine months of the year. In October, Skoda sales increased to 2,277 units, up 60.5% against the preceding month, and 26.1% against the same time last year. In July this year, Skoda also expanded onto the market of below 3.5-tonne utility vehicles and launched the Praktik model, which is developed on the same platform as the Roomster MPV.