A6 helps Audi sales surge in opening quarter

Sales of Audi vehicles are on track to surpass last year as opening quarter results show the German car maker has enjoyed strong demand to date this year.

A total of 2,610 Audi cars were sold in the opening three months of the year, up 17% on the same period in 2014.

The result marks a record opening quarter on these shores for the premium-end manufacturer.

Its A3, A4, and A6 models led the way in terms of sales from January to March with the A6 performing particularly strongly, resulting in a 35% spike in the number of models sold.

Commenting on the quarter’s results, Christian Gussen, managing director of Audi Ireland said the positive result “reflected the company’s commitment to providing the best in high-quality products and customer service.”

“Audi’s success is built on a combination of factors: dealer investment into their Audi showrooms, our class-leading customer service, and a product offering which is proving the most attractive to discerning customers of premium cars,” Mr Gussen said.

Audi’s performance further reflects the huge surge in cars being bought over the last number of months with a near-30% year-on-year jump recorded in February.

In total, 35,489 new private cars were licensed to the end of February, a rise of 27.3% on the same period in 2014.

CSO figures show that the pick-up is having a knock-on effect on the number of people employed by the industry which now stands at close to 42,000 people.