For most buyers waiting as long as a year for a new Audi, the <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/Business/UK/2022/07/20/uk-inflation-hits-new-40-year-high-of-94-after-rise-in-fuel-prices/" target="_blank">rising cost of living </a>is not much of a reason to give up on their dream. <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/Business/UK/2021/12/29/luxury-uk-car-dealer-reports-record-profits-as-demand-for-supercars-soars/" target="_blank">Consumer demand</a> is holding up, and the main challenge for car makers continues to be the <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/world/uk-news/2022/05/16/a-12-month-wait-for-a-ford-fiesta-and-europes-car-supply-crisis/" target="_blank">supply of components</a>, said Hildegard Wortmann, Audi’s chief sales officer since 2019. She took on a similar role at the wider Volkswagen Group level this year. “We have a record high backlog and the biggest ambition now is to really produce those cars as quickly as we can,” Ms Wortmann said in an interview in Salzburg, Austria. “People have a higher willingness to spend in the premium market than in the volume market.” The comments reflect a market that is still coping with the <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/business/2022/01/19/global-supply-chain-disruption-will-take-years-to-clear-dp-world-chairman-says/" target="_blank">overhang of supply shortages</a> — even as the rise in energy costs eats into households’ disposable income. Order books for the Audi brand, though, are full for the next seven months to a year, the company said on Thursday after publishing second-quarter earnings that beat analyst estimates. Car makers have adapted to supply constraints by focusing on higher-end vehicles, pushing up the average cost of cars sold on the market. Ms Wortmann’s comments also highlight how inflation — running at a <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/business/markets/2022/07/02/more-turbulence-ahead-for-global-stocks-as-eurozone-inflation-hits-record/" target="_blank">record pace in the eurozone</a> and <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/business/economy/2022/07/13/us-inflation-hits-91-highest-rate-in-40-years/" target="_blank">at a decades-high level in the US</a> — has a different impact on various parts of society. While governments look for ways to support low-income families contending with soaring living costs, many luxury brands, from make-up to handbags to cars, are in high demand. Audi hopes an expansion in its electric vehicle line-up will help maintain demand from more affluent buyers.