More evidence of the remarkable ascent of the Audi brand in the UK has been provided by its January 2007 sales figures, which for the first time have exceeded its premium German rivals’ combined sales total for the same month. This telling news follows the brand’s recent announcement of a sixth successive record sales year in 2006.

With sales of 8,553 cars in January, equating to an impressive market share of 5.2 per cent, Audi recorded a huge 32.6 per cent increase on the same period last year, and in the process not only overtook each of its two German premium sector rivals, but also surpassed their combined total sales (8,291 cars).

In 2006 Audi UK sold a record 86,003 cars in Britain - its sixth successive year of concerted growth. The ‘Vorsprung durch Technik’ brand’s sales have more than doubled since 1999 when 40,615 cars found homes in the UK.

This migration to the rapidly evolving Audi has been effected largely through a rapid range expansion from just 6 model lines ten years ago to 23 models today.

“We are clearly seeing exceptional demand for Audi, and this is creating by far the biggest order bank we have ever seen in the UK,” commented Head of Audi Operations, Gary Savage. “Our dramatic sales totals actually disguise the fact that at least four of our ranges are production limited and had we been able to make more cars, we could have sold even more in January as well as last year as a whole,” he concluded.

Director of Audi UK Jeremy Hicks emphasised that the sales records are real and not being achieved by resorting to ‘manipulation’: “We are attracting a steeply rising number of clients to Audi but we are not achieving this by ‘overheating’ any individual model segment. Our growth is coming principally from the expansion of our range which is set to increase further this year with the arrival of the new R8 sports car and the A5 Coupe,” he said.

(this article was taken from easier.com)

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