As the trend towards prestige cars comes into sharper focus, Audi is about to report its fourth successive record sales year. Sustained demand in Britain for the premium German brands has ensured that Audi UK is on course for 70,000 sales this year – a seven per cent increase on 2002.

This sharp rise is the latest in a series of remarkable leaps since 1995, when 25,555 Audis found homes in Britain. By 1999 this figure had jumped to 40,615 cars, and since 2000 the ascent has been consistently steep, rising from 43,168 sales to 54,037 in 2001 and 65,656 in 2002.

A key element of the marked upturn in demand has been the extraordinarily rapid evolution of the Audi model range over the past few years. Recent additions to this highly acclaimed line-up have included the new A4 Cabriolet, the A3 3-door hatchback and the flagship of the range – the A8 luxury saloon.

The increasing spread of models also incorporates an exceptionally comprehensive mix of petrol and diesel engines, and the brand-defining quattro four-wheel-drive system. Audi is still unique in the prestige sector in offering the major customer benefits of multitronic CVT automatic transmission. This year it has also set another new world benchmark for transmission technology with the advanced DSG double clutch gearbox, now available in the TT Coupé and Roadster and the latest A3 3.2 quattro.

One of the most sought-after Audi models in the UK is the A4, which thanks to a variety of new additions across the Saloon, Avant and Cabriolet ranges now numbers 61 versions in the British market, bringing a very wide span of appeal.

Commenting on the consistently high demand in Britain, Director of Audi UK Kevin Rose said: ‘We are in the midst of a massive migration into premium consumer products, including cars. The concentration of this migration is into German prestige brands, and for Audi there has never been a time when the level of brand acceptability and desirability has been higher’.

Fuelled by the huge impact created by the Audi TT in Britain, where this model sells in greater numbers than anywhere else in the world, Audi has seen customer numbers double, and almost re-double again, since 1981 in the UK.

The company has expanded its range to a total of eight different models this year, up from just four models as recently as 1993. This widest ever offering has served to attract a much wider spread of customer demand.