Value retention and desirability of sought-after Audi premium subcompact secure success in magazine’s new award category
According to the experts at Motor Trader the copper-bottomed choice in the current used car market is the Audi A1 premium subcompact hatchback, winner of the magazine’s first ever Used Car of the Year Award.
Presented this week at London’s Grosvenor House Hotel, the award is a new category added this year to the annual Motor Trader Awards, and all used cars on sale in 2012 were eligible for it. The magazine invited key stakeholders, including trade guides, auction houses and retailers, to nominate the cars that had impressed them most based on key criteria such as customer desirability and residual value performance. These nominations were then condensed into a shortlist from which the judges were asked to vote for an overall winner.
Commenting on the award, Motor Trader Editor Curtis Hutchinson said: “The A1 gave dealers an all-new entry model to pitch into the premium compact hatchback sector – it opened up a whole new customer base for Audi and proved to be an immediate success. The fact that it demands no compromises on quality versus the bigger Audis has worked in favour of its residuals, meaning that its desirability on the used market has since proved to be every bit as strong. It’s a highly coveted car and a very worthy winner of our first used award.”
Richard Starkey, Used Car Development Manager for Audi UK, added: “We’re really pleased with how the A1 is performing – the market really has embraced it as a fully-fledged Audi in condensed form, and that’s reflected in its residuals, in the level of new and used demand and in very encouraging awards like this.”
The Audi A1 is available in three-door and five-door Sportback forms priced from £13,790 OTR to £22,340 OTR. Engine highlights include the 105PS 1.6 TDI, which gives 74.3mpg capability with 99g/km CO2 output, and the 140PS 1.4 TFSI with Cylinder-on-Demand technology, offering up to 60.1mpg with 109g/km.
Article source: www.audi.co.uk