This year could have been a record for Audi in the UK, with demand outstripping supply by about 10,000 cars. Even so the company expects to end the year with sales of more than 100,000, close to the record of 100,845 in 2008.
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It means the UK is Audi’s largest export market, a few thousand sales ahead of the US.
“I’m disappointed that we have had supply shortages this year, but that will ease in 2011,” said UK director Jeremy Hicks at the launch of the A7 Sportback.
It will ease because Audi will be able to build more cars in China which will free up production in Europe to meet demand including the UK where the company has an order bank of more than 25,000 vehicles at any one time.
With the A1 adding a predicted 18,000 sales next year as well as the new A6 and A7 Sportback, 2011 could well be a record sales year for the company.
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By GlobalDataTo the end of October, Audi sales were up 11% year on year and its market share was up from 4.72% to 5%.
Details of the redesigned A6 will be announced next week before the car is unveiled in the metal at the Detroit motor show in early January.
Before then, the A7 Sportback, the first model to use the A6 underpinnings, arrives and Hicks is predicting 3,250 sales in 2011 with the A6 adding 10,000 to the mix.
The A3 will remain the company’s main seller – about one in three – followed by the A4 and A1 for the time being.
Attention for the moment is focused very clearly on the A7 which, as its name suggests, bridges the gap between A6 and A8. Deliveries are scheduled to start from 8 January with on road prices (including VAT upped 2.5% to 20%) ranging from GBP45,220 for the 2.8FSI SE to GBP49,790 for the 3.0TDI S line.
Audi sees the A7’s main competitors as the BMW 5 Series GT and Mercedes-Benz CLS and claims that its newcomer outperforms both those in all key areas including economy and emissions.
One area of improvement that is instantly noticeable is the ride which has lost the fussiness that some critics felt was Audi’s weakness. A 300km drive in southern Spain over some fairly rough road surfaces proved that Audi can tick that particular box and bodes well for the A6.
