The Audi A1 compact continues its road to success with Audi announcing that the new model will be sold outside of Europe by 2011. The A1 was originally planned as a European-only model but with demand increasing and interest from other markets, Audi could join Mini in its mass international appeal as a small car. The Fiat 500 will be trying to keep up with its appearance on the US market at the end of this year.

Contrary, though, the Audi A1 will not be available in the US and China, with those markets to wait for a second model for the US and a date later than 2011 for China. The A1 has still yet to prove its sales record in Europe as it won’t go on sale until tomorrow, August 27 but so far the interest (merging on hype) generated is such that Audi has a very positive outlook for its smallest offering.

The Audi A1 provides a premium offering in the compact sector, competing with Mini (but without the retro image), the BMW 1 Series and the Mercedes A-Class. It will go on sale in Germany at about 15,800 euros for the entry level 1.2-litre engine. While Audi had originally planned an initial 100,000 units, the A1 website has indicated international interest from about another 150,000 visitors.

Audi will therefore increase its production by 20 percent. It must be a beautiful thing to talk of production increases before the first sales have even started. The A1 still has a long road ahead and it will be interesting to see what slice it will occupy of Audi’s plan to reach production of 1.5 million vehicles annually by 2015.

Source | Automotive News

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