To most, 2021 has not been much better than the year before. The Covid pandemic is still with us, and we're still dealing with a chip shortage that continues to affect the production of a multitude of vehicles, but some brands have managed to weather the storm, and actually increase their sales. Audi America is one such company.

The German manufacturer has defied the odds and has posted a second-quarter delivery increase of 92% compared to last year, and a year-to-date sales increase of 60 percent, driven by popular models such as the Audi Q3 and Q5 SUVs. According to Audi America, this is its best first-half sales result ever, and its strongest quarterly sales result ever.

This massive jump in sales and deliveries was spearheaded by Audi's popular range of Q SUVs, with the Audi Q5 leading the charge. The Q5 posted a sales increase of 133 percent in the second quarter of 2021, and managed an increase of 86 percent on a year-to-date basis. The Q7 followed with an increase of 126 percent in the second quarter, while the Q3 managed to grow in sales by 124 percent. The Q7 grew by 66 percent YTD, and the Q3 grew by 85 percent YTD.

Compared to 2020, the combined second-quarter results for the Q3, Q5, and Q7 was an impressive 129 percent growth rate. These sales figures were 50 percent better than 2019 results.

Total sales figures also look impressive. Total sales in quarter two of 2020 equaled 34,843 vehicles, compared to 66,995 vehicles sold in Q2 of 2021, a 92.3 percent increase. The YTD change between 2021 and 2020 was 59.9 percent. Audi also managed to bag some impressive awards: both the Q5 and Q5 Sportback earned a 2021 IIHS Top Safety Pick Plus award. The brand is currently pursuing an aggressive pricing strategy with its 2022 A3 Sedan which should boost sales even further and let's not forget about incoming performance models such as the RS3. Things are looking good for Audi.