German carmaker Audi AG has sold around 177,950 cars last month (up 4.4%) to post its best-ever March sales numbers and also its highest ever for a single month. And with 438,250 units sold in the first quarter of 2015, its global sales increased by 6.1% compared to Q1 2014  with growth in all regions. Audi says it has registered an increase in sales for 63 months in a row.

“Our new record in the first quarter makes for a successful start into the new year, and we intend to continue this trend throughout the rest of the year,” says Luca de Meo, Board Member for Sales and Marketing at Audi AG. “In the second half of the year, our new Audi Q7 will also start contributing to these figures in Europe. The initial response by customers and dealers has been very good, and orders are already exceeding our expectations – even before the model has hit the showrooms.”

During the first three months of the year, sales mainly rose for the A3 family (+43.8%), the Q3 (+9.6%) and the A6 (+8.1%). Demand for this model was high in Germany, up 19.0 percent since the beginning of 2015 as also in the US.

Overall, Audi deliveries have climbed in the US by 13.8 percent to 40,098 units and March numbers rose 20 percent. The Q5 was again the bestseller and a growth driver with 3,934 units – an increase of 17.2 percent. Sales were also clearly in the double‑digits in other major markets: For example, Audi unit sales in Brazil increased in March by 63.9 percent.

In Europe too, Audi recorded the best first quarter in its history increasing its sales compared with the first three months of 2014 and exceeding the 200,000 mark in unit sales (+3.4% to around 207,250 units). Key drivers were Germany (+10.2% to 73,208 units) and Spain (+7.0% to 12,322 units).

Audi sales also rose in the Asia‑Pacific region by 7.6 percent to around 162,150 since January 2015. Among the major Asian markets, South Korea has led the growth momentum with sales up by 58.5 percent to 3,894 units in March, a plus of 34.9 percent to 9,194 units sold since the beginning of the year. In Australia, Audi saw a double‑digit rise in sales and delivered 15.3 percent more vehicles to customers than during the same period in 2014. In China,the company sold 133,316 units (+7.1%) in the first quarter but March sales rose marginally by 1.5 percent compared with the same month in 2014.