Berlin - German carmaker Audi reported higher sales for 2008 on Thursday, bucking a trend which has seen most of its rivals suffer because of the global economic downturn.

The company said it sold slightly more than 1 million vehicles last year, an increase of 4.1 per cent over 2007. In December, sales were up 17.4 per cent over the same month of the previous year.

Audi, a subsidiary of Europe's biggest carmaker, Volkswagen, said a range of new models, including the A4 saloon car and the sports utility vehicle Q5, contributed to the boost in sales.

Most German carmakers, like their counterparts elsewhere, are reeling under the effects of the economic crisis and have been forced to slash production to offset a fall in demand.

Car sales in Germany, Western Europe's biggest car market, dropped 6.6 per cent last month, ending a glum year which saw new car registrations down 1.9 per cent from 2007 to 3.09 million.

A survey released Thursday by consultants KPMG showed senior executives in the German car industry believed the situation would remain bleak for the next five years.

Manufacturers and parts suppliers anticipated falling profits, more insolvencies and a greater number of mergers and acquisitions between 2009-2013, according to the study of 200 companies.

"About half the respondents anticipated wildly fluctuating earnings in the coming five years, or said they were not in a position to give a reliable estimate of their companies' profitability," said KPMG car industry expert Uwe Achterholt.