TT RS

Make
Audi
Segment
Coupe

With the world gripped in a pandemic that has stalled economies and closed businesses on a massive scale, some car manufacturers have managed to still come out on top. Audi is one of the few lucky ones and has officially ended 2020 with the most successful quarter in the company's history after showing impressive growth in the third quarter before that. The best part of the brilliant sales record is that Audi's hallowed range of RS models saw a record 16 percent spike in growth over the last year.

Audi Sport, the performance division of the German automaker responsible for models like the Audi R8 and RS6 Avant, released its financial results on 19 January, and the number of vehicles sold totaled an impressive 29,300 units. More impressive still, Audi as a brand sold a total of 1.6-million cars globally in 2020.

The news of record RS sales is headlined by Audi's most successful quarter ever. The company delivered over 500,000 cars between October and December, with a total of 1,692,773 cars delivered worldwide for the year. The year-on-year figures represent an 8.3% drop, but markets like China saw growth with 727,358 vehicles sold representing an increase of 5.4 percent. All this while battling a global pandemic. Audi's range of e-Tron models also showed a 79.5 percent surge in sales and is now the global top seller among electric vehicles made by German premium manufacturers. In the US, deliveries dropped by 16.7 percent, but strong SUV sales indicate that 2021 will see positive growth.

While Audi welcomes Dr. Sebastian Grams as head of the Audi Sport division, the brand continues to focus on its e-tron lineup, including the forthcoming RS e-tron GT, which will pack a serious 640 horsepower. The brand still offers a wide variety of RS-badged sports cars, including the TT RS, and the massively cool RS6 Avant. Audi's full-blown supercar the R8 also falls under the Audi Sport banner.

But Audi Sport's sales, while impressive, were well behind those of its fiercest performance rival. In the same 12-month period, BMW's M division sold a staggering 144,218 units, which represents a 6 percent increase over the previous year. The fact that performance model sales have increased during this dreadful time is a clear indication that those with money still have lots of it and are willing to spend.