It's pretty clear now that the efforts of Germany's premium carmakers to expand their reach into more popular segments and niches are beginning to pay off in numbers, as believe it or not, Audi has jumped to fourth sport in the UK's overall sales chart, just behind Ford, GM's Vauxhall (Opel for the rest of Europe) and Volkswagen.
The brand with the four-ring logo has already matched its 2012 sales record of about 123,000 units this year, and is expected to flirt with the 145,000 mark by the end of December. As of now, Audi has captured a 6.4 percent share of the UK market compared to 5.9 percent for BMW and 4.8 percent for Mercedes-Benz.
"We have been building to this since 1967," said Audi's UK arm. "We now have our strongest demand ever. Customers are voting with their feet. There is a flight to premium, and premium is where the profits are made."
What's even more impressive about Audi's feat is that it was achieved without having a single model in the top 10 list of the UK's best selling cars. "We are not dependent on any single model and have no overheated segments," said Audi.
The German premium carmaker has increased its offerings from 17 models in 2001, to 47 today, and is expected to grow to 60 by as early as 2015, with new additions such as the Q1 small crossover.
Audi pointed out that about 30 percent of all models sold in the UK are all-wheel drive quattro models, while it will also sell more than 1,100 RS performance cars in the country this year.
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