Audi reported that its May 2015 sales increased 11.0% to 18,428 vehicles, a total that stands as the second-best month since the brand entered the U.S. market in 1970. May was also the 53rd consecutive month of record U.S. Audi sales.

The previous May record was set in 2014 with sales of 16,601 vehicles. The best month Audi has seen in the U.S. market came in December 2014 with sales of 19,238 cars and SUVs. Through the first five months of 2015, Audi U.S. sales rose 11.7% from last year to 75,353 vehicles.

A key driver of Audi sales gains for the month was the significant increase in demand for the A3 and S3 models that form the base of the Audi product lineup. May 2015 was best month on record for the A3 and S3 sedan models with 3,035 cars sold, as well as for the A3 Cabriolet with 458 cars sold. Combined, the 3,493 A3 and S3 sales trailed only the 4,280 sales of the popular Audi Q5 and SQ5 crossovers in the Audi results.

“A year after launching the new A3 models, we are seeing payoff from our bold decision to reimagine a key component of the Audi lineup and take advantage of a luxury car segment poised to take off,” said Scott Keogh, President, Audi of America. “The record sales for the A3 and S3 sedans, along with the A3 Cabriolet, show this was a risk well worth taking. And we aren’t done yet with the all-new A3 Sportback e-tron coming this fall as the first plug-in Audi.”

May represented strong demand for Audi luxury SUVs with a 36.7% increase in May sales encompassing the Audi Q3, Q5 and Q7 models. The Q5 posted an 11.6% increase from a year earlier, and the Q7 posted a 25.3% increase from last May. The Audi Q3 wasn’t available in May 2014.

Audi Certified pre-owned vehicle sales also achieved their second-highest total for any month and the best May ever with a 5.8% gain on 4,405 CPO vehicles sold. Audi CPO sales year-to-date increased 8.3%.

Audi holds the longest running monthly record sales streak in the premium car market according to a competitive sales report from MotorIntelligence.com.