Volkswagen's premium brand Audi said deliveries of passenger cars rose 5.6 percent in August, to 125,300 vehicles, as strong sales in the United States and China helped offset a sharp drop in deliveries in Germany. Audi's next generation A3 model saw sales rise by 63.5 percent compared with the year-earlier period, and sales of its Q3 offroader rose 40 percent, thanks to the popularity of smaller vehicles. Sales in Europe fell 7.1 percent, weighed down by a 26.6 percent drop in deliveries in its home market, while deliveries in the United States and China rose by 22.1 percent and 10.2 percent respectively. (Reuters)