Oct. 6 (Bloomberg) -- Volkswagen AG's Audi luxury-vehicle unit doesn't expect to reach its goal of 100,000 U.S. sales this year because of the country's financial crisis, the division's U.S. chief said.

``Given the economic climate right now, 100,000 will probably not be in the cards,'' Johan de Nysschen said in an interview today in New York. ``We all had anticipated some degree of economic adversity. We didn't imagine the largest one-day drop in the history of mankind,'' he said, referring to the 778-point decline in the Dow Jones Industrial Average on Sept. 29.

His comments follow a 3.9 percent drop from a year earlier in Audi's U.S. sales through September, as the Ingolstadt, Germany-based automaker sold 65,817 cars and sport-utility vehicles. For all of 2007, its sales rose 3.8 percent to 93,508.

Audi's U.S. unit, based in Herndon, Virginia, should ``break through the 100,000 barrier next year,'' De Nysschen said. ``We're well-positioned to capitalize on the market's increased awareness of fuel-efficiency,'' with vehicles such as the Q7 SUV.

``The market has been challenging all year and the rate of deterioration in the market seems to be accelerating,'' he said.

Industrywide sales of luxury autos, excluding so-called sport-wagon crossovers, fell 29 percent in September from a year earlier, after a 15 percent drop in August, according to Autodata Corp. Total industry sales slid 27 percent last month and 15 percent in August.

Volkswagen hasn't decided whether to build Audis at a $1 billion plant in Tennessee set to open in 2011, De Nysschen said. ``Linking into the group operation in Tennessee is one option, but it is by no means the only one. We are not compelled to go down and build our cars there.''

Volkswagen gained 14.55 euros to 292.35 euros in Frankfurt trading. The shares have risen 87 percent this year.

To contact the reporter on this story: Greg Bensinger in New York at gbensinger1@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: October 6, 2008 13:08 EDT