Audi's March vehicles sales fall 10.7 pct

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - German car maker Audi sold 10.7 percent fewer cars in March than in the same period last year, but managed to raise sales in China, it said on Monday.

"The trend is positive: Our monthly results have been continually improving since January, a difficult month for everybody," said management board member Peter Schwarzenbauer, in charge of marketing and sales at Audi.

Car sales in Germany, Europe's largest market, jumped 40 percent in March thanks to government incentives to encourage drivers to ditch old cars for more fuel-efficient models, data showed last week.

Audi, a Volkswagen (VOWG.DE) unit, sold 90,400 cars worldwide in March. While sales fell 12.9 percent in western Europe they rose 6.6 percent in China, mainly thanks to the newly launched long-wheelbase version of the Audi A4, it said.

(Reporting by Eva Kuehnen)