Audi sees strong Q1 sales after volumes jump in Feb

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Volkswagen's (VOWG_p.DE) premium carmaker Audi expects to finish off the first three months of the year with robust sales following a good performance in February.

"We are on course for a strong first quarter and that is mainly thanks to our leading position in China and Western Europe," Audi sales chief Peter Schwarzenbauer said in a statement on Monday.

Sales rose to around 75,900 vehicles in February, which was a gain of 19.9 percent from very weak sales in the year-earlier period when demand for premium cars slumped worldwide at all major brands including larger rival BMW (BMWG.DE).

For the first two months, Audi volumes rose 28.7 percent to 153,700 vehicles, mainly thanks to sales nearly doubling in China.

The world's biggest country by population overtook Germany as Audi's single largest market by about 4,600 vehicles during the two-month period.

(Reporting by Christiaan Hetzner)