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Audi Celebrates 500,000th A1 Built, but Is the Facelift Ready?

While American automakers are still bewildered by the A3 and Q3 compacts, which are eating into their mid-size model sales, Audi is celebrating the success of an even smaller car over in Europe.
Audi Celebrates 500,000th A1 Built 4 photos
Photo: Audi
Audi Celebrates 500,000th A1 BuiltAudi Celebrates 500,000th A1 BuiltAudi Celebrates 500,000th A1 Built
Launched in 2010, the A1 is still a model in its infancy, barely halfway though its first generation. Yet the company said today that it's managed to build exactly half a million examples in just four years.

A1 number 500,000 is a red five-door with shadowline trim, xenons and the S line body kit, headed to a customer in Germany.

We have reason to believe that a mid-life facelift will be introduced in just a couple of months, this story being just a precursor. The A1 is technically classed as a supermini and is based on the same platform as the VW Polo, Skoda Fabia and SEAT Ibiza. Of the bunch, it comes with the best tech features and the most refined ride, demanding a heftier price from customers.

It comes as a bit of a shock that 500,000 A1s have been sold in just four years. It took Audi over a decade to sell that many TT coupes and roadsters.

Cool A1 facts!

Along with the milestone announcement, Audi has also released a very cool graphic with facts about the A1. According to the Germans, all the A1s they've made would stretch from Brussels to Moscow if placed bumper-to-bumper. Germany is their biggest market, followed closely by the UK and France.

The most popular color is white, 34% of buyers having opted for it. In addition 31% of A1 owners have the more expensive S tronic 7-speed twin-clutch automatic, a huge percentage for such a small car.

Audi says 80% of buyers are new to their brand, meaning the A1 is a young brand ambassador. 56% of cars are 3-door models, the rest 5-door ones. This last figure isn't actually fair, since the Sportback was introduced in 2012, two years after the original. 2014 sales numbers actually show a slight preference towards the more practical 5-door.

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About the author: Mihnea Radu
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Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida.
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