Audi A3 supplies tight, model stealing Honda, Toyota sales

Fri, 04 Jul 2014

It appears that there was a pent up demand for compact, front-wheel drive German luxury sedans that no one really knew about. Not only has the Mercedes CLA-Class been a success in the US with its Hungarian factory running three shifts to keep up, but the Audi A3 Sedan is doing quite well, too, after just three full months on the market.

Audi of America recently announced that the compact sedan shifted 2,452 vehicles in June and 7,735 units of the A3 since the beginning of the year. Not only are they selling; it's the people buying them that's important. According to Audi USA spokesperson John Schilling speaking to Autoblog, "A little over 25 percent of A3 buyers in April were 30 years or under." That's compared to about 18 percent for the A4, he said. Company executives also recently told Edmunds that many of those new customers are brand conquests turning in Honda or Toyota models. We gently mocked Audi when it held A3 Sedan launch parties aimed at hipsters that served craft beer and played indie music, but the marketing worked, apparently.

That said, if you're in the market for an A3, you might have not be able to get one immediately. According to Edmunds, some customers are on a waiting list for the compact luxury sedan. Although, Schilling said that's because Audi is still stocking dealers. "It's a little leaner than other models, but that's mainly because it's new and still ramping up," he said.

It doesn't seem like the strong sales are changing anytime soon. The A3 Sedan won the title of 2014 World Car of the Year, and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety gave the car its Top Safety Pick+ status, the group's highest award. Also, there are more a lot A3 variants on the way. The S3, A3 TDI and A3 Cabriolet all hit dealers later this summer, and the Q3 compact crossover arrives this fall. Finally, according to Edmunds, the A3 E-Tron plug-in hybrid slides into US dealers in the second quarter of 2015. All those new models could mean even more young folks grabbing for the Four Rings.

By Chris Bruce