BMW has lead the luxury car market for the past seven years, but an increase in Audi sales may soon change that.
According to Bloomberg Businessweek, high Audi sales have cut BMW's lead to just 2,110 vehicles. That's a stark comparison to this time last year, when BMW had sold over 40,000 more units than any other competitor.
AutoBlog reports that Audi overtook Mercedes-Benz to claim to the second spot in the luxury car standings last year and intends to take over the top spot by 2020.
Volkswagen, Audi's parent company, pumped over $25 billion into research and development over the past 10 years in an attempt to discover what type of tune up customers would like to see in future models as well as potential markets.
The numbers show that the investment is paying off. Its year-to-date sales have grown 13 percent, and the automaker now sells 12 model lines - more than double what it offered a decade ago. The company has also added three SUVs, a compact vehicle and a sports car.
Other contributions to the increase of Audi sales include a larger presence in the Chinese market, which BMW has been slow to capitalize on, and opening a production facility in Mexico to help satisfy North American demand.