New Audi A1 available in UK in November 2010

Audi's new top-flight compact hatchback, the A1, has just been launched in Germany, Austria, Belgium, Luxembourg and Switzerland. It will be available throughout mainland Europe next month, and comes to the UK in November 2010.

Interest in the A1 has been higher than anticipated (more than 150,000 worldwide have registered their interest) and Audi have announced that they are increasing production capacity by 20% from 100,000 units per year to 120,000 to ensure that the A1 will also be available in South East Asia and South America. It's possible that the A1 will also see a Chinese launch.

The A1 will initially be available with two petrol engine options (1.2 and 1.4 litre TFSI) and a diesel 1.6 litre TDI. Audi have said that the customisation options are vast - for example, there are more than 800 different exterior combinations. 

Current pricing ranges from £13,145 to £18,280 on the road. If you can't wait until November, you might be interested to know that Vindis currently have secondhand Audi A3s starting at under £10,000.