CHANGCHUN - Luxury German carmaker Audi's sales in China during the first eight months of this year hit a record high, according to Audi China Enterprise Management Co Ltd, a subsidiary of Audi AG.

Audi delivered a total of 417,234 vehicles to Chinese customers between January and August, up 15.8 percent from the same period last year.

Audi will further strengthen its research and development (R&D) capability in China.

The company said, by the end of 2023, the staff in Audi China's research centers will rise to 650 from the current 280. The R&D teams will focus on areas such as automatic driving, digitalization and new energy vehicles.

Meanwhile, Audi will open an R&D and testing center in the east China city of Wuxi in the first quarter of 2019.