The Audi brand globally has surpassed 2011's record of 1 302 659 deliveries in the 11th month of this year, having already delivered 42 091 units more with another month to report.
 
The brand's strong growth spanned all regions of the world: China remains Audi's biggest single market, having already delivered 370 559 vehicles from January to November. Amid difficult market conditions, Audi ended the past month in Europe marginally down on the strong prior-year level (-1.9 percent). Audi's sales total for Europe is up 3.5 percent for the period January through November, having delivered 693 850 units. The brand also achieved a growth rate of 24.4 percent (124 469 units) in the United States, surpassing the UK to become the third largest market for Audi.
 
Worldwide sales growth for Audi in November was fueled by the brand's SUV models. Alongside the Q3, Q5 and Q7, the new A3 three-door version attracted extra customers to dealerships: The compact model, which went on sale in its first markets at the end of August, improved on its predecessor's delivery total for November 2011 by almost half.
 
In South Africa, the Audi brand has enjoyed a record-breaking 2012 to date. November was the eighth consecutive record month in 2012 and the third best-ever retail month for the brand in South Africa. Audi South Africa has therefore surpassed its record annual deliveries to customers in November 2012; the previous record of 14 531 was achieved in December 2011.
 
Product introductions and innovations were kicked off early in the year with the introduction of the facelifted Audi A5 range, followed by the facelifted Audi A4 range in February. April saw the introduction of the highly-anticipated Audi Q3 and the four-door Audi A1 Sportback. The third quarter of 2012 represented the "sporty" value of the brand with the introduction of the potent Audi S6, S7 Sportback and flagship S8. The last quarter of the year saw the introduction of the new Audi A3 3-door, which has seen phenomenal interest.
 
"We are very pleased with our 2012 sales performance this far and plan to end the year with a new record volume in South Africa," said Ryan Searle, Head of Audi South Africa.

"We posted an increase in sales across all our model lines with the Audi A4 leading the charge, which remains the number one selling vehicle year-to-date with 5095 units sold. We have just introduced the all-new Audi A3 which promises to impress in the A-segment of the premium market. The outstanding retail results in 2012 were achieved in partnership with the Audi Dealer Network as well as maintaining the number one position in consumer satisfaction as declared by IPSOS," concluded Searle.
 
In the forthcoming year, Audi will introduce new product innovations, including the re-introduction of the allroad concept to South Africa in the form of the Audi A4 allroad; the RS5 Cabriolet and Audi R8 product improvement to name a few. The Audi A3 Sportback will be a new product introduction later in the year.
 
The year 2013 will also represent a hallmark year for the Audi brand as it enjoys the launch of new RS models. The RS model range will include the Audi RS4 Avant, RS 5 Coupé and Cabriolet, TT RS Coupé and Cabriolet, as well as the introduction of the RS7 Sportback and RS Q3 at the end of 2013.