Berlin - World sales by Volkswagen's premium Audi division slumped 28 per cent in annual terms to 56,000 cars in January in a fresh sign of the serious troubles of the world automotive industry, the division disclosed Friday.

Audi had previously been less affected by the general fall in car sales. A spokesman at the company in Ingolstadt argued that strong sales a year ago, when Audi launched a makeover of its A4 model, made the relative difference look worse than it really was.

Last year Audi lifted its annual sales to breach the mark of 1 million annually. It plans to introduce six new models in the first half of this year. Audi executives said they had raised Audi's market share in western Europe from 3.9 to 5 per cent.

Sources at Volkswagen's headquarters in Wolfsburg said meanwhile that the German group as a whole suffered a year-on-year sales decline "on the scale of 20 per cent." The group's marques include Volkswagen, Audi, Seat and Skoda

Volkswagen shares promptly slipped 3 per cent on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange to 253 euros. (dpa)