JEREMY Hicks, boss of Audi, is already pleased with progress of his new baby: the A1 supermini.

No wonder.

All 2,000 A1s available this year have already been sold with some buyers spending between £23,000-£24,000 on Audi’s executive version of the MINI. And bear in mind that list price for the car starts at £13,420 as of January 1, 2011.

Jeremy believes the Audi A1 will become the company’s third best-seller after the A3 and A4.

“Having a car in this segment will help us to grow our customer base in what is the largest market sector in the UK,” Jeremy explains. “It will open new doors for us which has to be good for the brand.”

But what will be good news for all business car buyers is that the ‘Audi experience’ will be the same for an A1 customer as it is for an R8 customer spending more than £120,000. “We shouldn’t discriminate against an A1 customer,” believes Hicks.

To emphasise how much the A1 is just like any other Audi Jeremy says that every car will be built to order and “not sold off the shelf. They are bespoke.”

The 1.6 TDI, starting at £14,480, is expected to be the biggest seller with most buyers opting for the Sport trim, the middle of the three trim levels.

The company is also putting a lot of store on the forecast residual value for the A1 which will add to its appeal and reduce the cost of ownership.

According to estimates by CAP Monitor, the A1 1.6 TDI SE will be worth 55% of its new value after three years, ahead of Citroën DS3 1.6 HDI (49%) and MINI One 1.6D (48%). This equates to 29.6p a mile against the Citroen’s 32.1p and MINI’s 32.2p.

Which will be more good news for business car managers. An executive Audi for supermini running costs.

Business Car Manager Editor’s Blog on Audi A1