Audi’s product explosion continues with new A4 Avant

On the 21 June 2008 the Audi range sees the UK introduction of the new A4 Avant estate models. The all new A4 saloons arrived with customers in February this year.

Total A4 UK annual sales, including Cabriolet and RS derivatives, are in the region of 31,000 units. This year Audi UK expects 5,000 A4 Avants to be delivered to customers and 15,000 in a full year. New A4 Avant prices range from £23,400 to £33,640.

The A4 is Audi’s best selling model range in the UK, narrowly ahead of the A3 range which is also being refreshed this year.

Over 303,000 A4s of all types have been sold in the UK since the model range was launched in 1995.

The UK is Audi’s third largest market in the world behind Germany and China and Audi expects to become the top premium brand in the UK within the next few years. In the year 2000 Audi’s UK sales were just over 43,000 units and in 2007 the brand broke the 100,000 new car sales milestone for the first time. This year they expect to see another six per cent growth in sales.

Much of Audi’s growth has been achieved by entering new market sectors with additional model ranges. Ten years ago Audi had 12 model ranges, today it has 25 and by 2012 they will have 40.

This year’s new model activities include the introduction of the new A3 Cabriolets, the revised A3 Hatchbacks, the A4 Avant estates, the RS6 Avant, TTS and TTD Coupes and the huge Q7, 6.0-litre, 500hp, V12 TDI SUV.

Speaking this week at the UK media launch of the new A4 Avant model Jeremy Hicks Director of Audi UK said, “Even though the domestic market is experiencing a difficult period due to high fuel prices, higher taxation with Vehicle Excise Duty, higher personal taxation for company car users and ever increasing fuel prices, to some extent the brand has been immune from these issues.

Our sales for the first four months of this year have increased by 5.4 per cent in a new car market which has shown no growth.”

He added, “We are not recession proof but we are in at sector of the market seemingly less affected by tax and fuel price issues.” He said the premium car market has by nine per cent growth so far this year in the UK with the sectors where their A3, A4 and A6 models sell showing the largest increases in sales.

He commented that it was inevitable that some Audi customers, because of financial pressures, would look at downsizing between models in the brand, A6 to A4 and A4 to A3. It is possible that due to the much higher cost of diesel fuel over petrol some customers would change to petrol powered models rather than diesel if they were not high mileage users.

Currently 70 per cent of Audi new car sales are diesel models. Overall he expects Audi UK to see a six per cent sales growth this year.

Hicks also said that Audi would have to grow their sales in the current difficult market conditions by attracting conquest customers to their existing and additional new model ranges.

However it was also very important to retain existing buyers and the company and their dealer network had worked hard on improving customer service. He said that two years ago their customer retention rate was 39 per cent, now it is 50 per cent.

“Quality customer service is key to our growth” Jeremy Hicks said.

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