Frankfurt - German luxury carmaker Audi said Tuesday it was facing up to the toughest year in the history of the car industry - despite reporting a record business year in 2008.

The group said pre-tax profit rose 9 per cent last year to almost 3.2 billion euros (4 billion dollars) with vehicle sales breaching the one million mark after climbing by 4.1 per cent.

The luxury offshoot of Europe's biggest carmaker Volkswagen said operating profit grew by 2.5 per cent to 2.77 billion euros.

But releasing the results Audi warned that the company's next 12 months were shaping up to be "the most difficult year in the history of the automotive industry."

"We are responding flexibly and proportionately to changes in the volume of orders and adjusting production at short notice to keep stock levels down," said Audi chief Rupert Stapler.