German luxury car maker Audi AG said it expects its sales in China to double over the next seven years after the country become its biggest overseas market outside Germany.

The luxury car unit of Volkswagen AG targets to sell 200,000 units in China by 2015, said Werner Paul Eichhorn, general manager of Audi Division under Volkswagen (China) Investment Co Ltd.

Audi's projection followed a 24.8-percent sales growth to a record high of 100,888 units on China's mainland last year, fueled by demand for its A4 and A6 sedans made by its Chinese joint venture, First Automotive Works Group.

The car maker is defending its leading position in the domestic market as the mainland's rising population of affluent consumers and an economic boom will help it narrow the gap with BMW AG as the world's largest luxury car maker. BMW last year boosted sales by 42 percent to 51,588 units on the Chinese mainland.

Although he admitted competition in the luxury car market is becoming more intense with the influx of Japanese rivals such as Lexus, Infiniti and Acura, Eichhorn said Audi is sure of meeting the target with new models and growing the dealer network from 134 to 170.

Audi will begin domestic sales of the imported A5 sedan at the Beijing auto show in April. It will also launch a new Chinese-made A4 sedan as early as 2009.

China's luxury car market has grown an average 30 percent annually and Audi takes more than half of it.

(Shanghai Daily March 18, 2008)