Audi 2012 Annual Report Download - page 149

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In Central and Eastern Europe the upward trend in car sales continued, driven mainly by rising
demand in Russia. Despite the expiry of state incentives for car buyers, the Russian market saw
new registrations rise by 10.9 percent to 2.7 (2.4) million passenger cars.
The U.S. automobile market showed above-average dynamism in the year under review. Favorable
credit terms and a continuing high level of replacement demand helped new registrations climb
to 14.5 (12.8) million vehicles – a rise of 13.4 percent or 1.7 million passenger cars and light
commercial vehicles.
In Latin America the Brazilian car market broke the previous year’s record, with 2.9 (2.6) million
new passenger cars registered. The trend benefited especially from temporarily reduced tax rates
on industrial products. By contrast the previous year’s record total could not be improved on in
Argentina, with 587 (620) thousand vehicles sold, as a result of import restrictions imposed by
the Argentinian government.
The Asia-Pacific region was the main driver of car sales worldwide in 2012. The sales volume of
25.7 (22.7) million passenger cars was up 13.3 percent – a much more dynamic performance
than even in the previous year. The Chinese automobile market achieved 9.3 percent growth to
13.5 (12.4) million vehicles. There was a substantial rise in new registrations in India, too, of
11.1 percent to 2.5 (2.3) million passenger cars despite continuing high financing costs and rising
fuel prices. The Japanese car market recovered from the impact of the 2011 natural disaster in
the year under review, and with the added advantage of financial incentives offered by the state
for environment-friendly vehicles, there was a very healthy rise of 29.5 percent in car sales to
4.6 (3.5) million units.
German car market
Amid the difficulties being experienced in other major Western European countries, the German
car market proved to be comparatively stable. Despite increased fuel costs, 3.1 (3.2) million
vehicles were newly registered in the year under review. The moderate fall of 2.9 percent is mainly
attributable to consumer restraint. In addition, the German car market was adversely affected in
the second half of the year by growing uncertainty about future economic prospects.
The proportion of diesel versions in total new-car registrations climbed 1.1 percentage points in
2012 to reach a new all-time high of 48.2 percent. Vehicle exports by German carmakers were
down 2.6 percent on the previous year’s total at 4.1 (4.2) million units. The main factor at work
here was the cyclically driven fall in exports to other Western European countries. The export
markets of Western Europe nevertheless remained the principal sales region for German vehicle
exports, accounting for 2.0 (2.3) million units. Topping the list of national export markets were
the UK and the United States, with 0.7 (0.6) and 0.6 (0.5) million vehicles respectively, and once
again China. 0.3 (0.3) million German-built vehicles were shipped there in 2012 as a whole.
Due to weak demand in Western Europe, domestic production by German manufacturers slipped
by 3.7 percent to 5.4 (5.6) million units. On the other hand, German manufacturers’ passenger
car production in other countries again gained in significance in 2012, growing by 8.9 percent to
8.0 (7.4) million units.
International motorcycle market
Moderate growth in the global economy meant that international demand for motorcycles in the
displacement segment above 500 cc revealed a very mixed picture. Worldwide new registrations
of motorcycles in the markets that are relevant for the Ducati brand were down 4.0 percent. In
Western Europe, sales were down 30.0 and 29.9 percent in Spain and Italy respectively due to
the sovereign debt crises; demand also slipped by 7.4 percent in France and by 6.4 percent in