Last month, Porsche saw its sales in Romania triple against last July to 16 units, while Audi, the premium brand of the Volkswagen-Audi group, registered an increase of over 70% in sold units to 252 units, according to Porsche Romania, which represents the VW, Audi, Seat, Skoda and Porsche brands, local zf.ro reports.

This year, Porsche posted overall sales of 84 units, up 100% against the 42 units sold in the first seven months of 2006. The largest increase was triggered by the new Super Sport models of the 911 range. Porsche Romania registered six orders for the top of the range 911 Turbo model.

The price of a 911 Turbo model is above 140,000 euros. For the GT2 and GT3 models, which are particularly preferred by buyers who desire a car as close to a racing model as possible, Porsche Romania received two definite orders. The price of a 911 GT3 model starts at 114,752 euros, VAT included, while the price of a 911 GT2 model exceeds 210,000 euros.

In the first 7 months of the year, Audi sales increased by over 55% against the corresponding period of last year, with the best selling models being the A4, with 414 units, and the Q7 SUV, with 398. From the carmaker's sports model range, 12 units of the new Audi A5 coupe and an R8 model were delivered in July. Volkswagen saw its sales double this July against the corresponding period of last year to 2,270 units, compared with the 42% growth rate registered in June.

The best selling model of the range is still the VW Polo with 2,863 units, followed by the Passat with 2,102 units, which was the best selling model of the medium range in the first six months of this year, according to APIA statistical data.

In July, Skoda registered a 16% increase, to 2,234 units, compared with the year-ago period. In the first seven months, the overall increase against the January-July 2006 period was by 25%, to 13,581 models. Last month, Skoda representatives launched the new Skoda Praktik, a utility car below 3,5 tonnes manufactured on a common platform with the Roomster MPV. The price of the Praktik model starts at 10,210 euros and reaches as much as 12,359 euros for the diesel model.

In September, Porsche Romania will launch the new Seat Altea Freetrack, a model manufactured on the compact platform of the German group. The basic price of the model stands at 25,027 euros, VAT included, with prices reaching 28,565 euros for the top of the range model.