Luxury carmakers pull back from the brink as sales crisis eases

Berlin - Luxury German carmaker Audi AG reported Wednesday its June sales edged higher amid signs that premium vehicle groups are managing to slowly put the global recession behind them. Helped along by a strong performance of markets in China and Germany, Audi said June sales rose by 1.3 per cent to 91,200 compared to the same month last year. 'We will finish on target - achieving our sales forecast of 900,000 cars in 2009,' said Audi international sale and marking executive Peter Schwarzenbauer. Audi is the luxury auto offshoot of Volkswagen AG, Europe's biggest carmaker. The latest Audi figures follow the release Tuesday of the latest sales data for the group's two key rivals - BMW and Mercedes - which showed the fall in sales that took hold as the recession gained ground last year as starting to ease up. While the world's top premium carmaker Munich-based BMW reported a 13-per-cent drop in sales in June compared to the same month last year, it was the slowest decline since October when a shakeout in the US banking sector sent global economic growth into a tailspin. 'These are first indications of a slight recovery on the automobile markets,' said BWM sales executive Ian Robertson releasing the BMW figures. At the same time, Mercedes-Benz, the flagship of Daimler and the world's second biggest luxury carmaker, said sales dropped by 5.4 per cent to 100,300 vehicles to report its smallest fall since September. 'The development of sales in June exceeded our expectations,' said Mercedes Benz sales chief Klaus Maier. In addition to its core BMW brand the BMW group figures also includes sales of its compact Mini and top-of-the range Rolls-Royce models. BMW posted a 13-per-cent sales decline year on year last month. Also helping the luxury car sales has been the 2,500-euro (3480- dollar) bonus offered by the German government aimed at encouraging auto owners to scarp their old vehicles and to trade up to more environmentally sound models. Audi sales in Germany jumped to about 27,700 in June, a rise of 18 per cent compared to the same month last year. However, in the first half of the year Audi sold a total of 466,000 cars, which was 9.7 per cent less than in the same period in 2008.