German carmaker Audi sees turning point in Chinese car sales

BERLIN - Audi said on Thursday that its Chinese car sales had improved again following the recently resolved dispute between the German car manufacturer and its network of dealerships in China.

The head of distribution for the Ingolstadt-based company, Dieter Voggenreiter, said that "the last days of May already indicated that [Audi] will return to its previous market position swiftly."

While sales in China, the firm's single biggest market, still fell by four percent compared to last May, they improved markedly compared to the 18-percent year-on-year drop experienced between January and April.

Audi plans to revamp its corporate strategy in China by cooperating with China's First Auto Works (FAW) conglomerate in addition to its existing partnership with SAIC Motor Corporation.

The announcement spooked the company's Chinese dealerships, leading Audi to offer assurances that it would retain a shared sales and distribution network.

Voggenreiter described Audi's restructuring process as a "door opened for the market potential of the next decade."

Audi sold a total of 48,000 vehicles in China in May, just behind German rival Mercedes Benz's figure of 50,000 for the month.