Audi UK is launching a summer marketing campaign for the Q7 in an attempt to convert new customers to the SUV segment and poach owners of rival vehicles.

Audi wants to sell 6,500 Q7s this year in the UK, and has its sights set on high-earning consumers who will be attending music festivals and summer events.

The test-drive campaign starts at The Cornbury Music Festival on July 7. Set in front of a 17th century country house in Oxfordshire, the event bills itself as, “a country fair with a rock ‘n’ roll twist,” and features performances from David Gray and Blondie.

Audi will host a secret acoustic stage, which festival-goers can only get to by going off-road in a Q7. Customers targeted by Audi’s database will be sent VIP invitations. They will be allowed a test-drive in a Q7 and will also be chauffeur driven home at the end of the festival.

Arvato Loyalty, a relationship marketing agency, will be hosting the events for Audi and will employ Q7 ‘brand ambassadors’ to provide product information to prospective customers. The ambassadors will record information on PDAs before sending the data to Audi’s prospect lead management system. Arvato Loyalty said it was confident the new campaign would deliver bottom-line results.

Ellie Lawford, Audi’s product communications manager, said: “There is fierce competition in the luxury SUV segment and market leaders such as Audi need to be bold in implementing new ideas.”

Lawford said the Q7 test drive experience will appear at three more events in “rural hotspots” during the summer.

Audi recently started its £5.2m marketing drive for the A5 coupe, which will account for 3,800 sales this year, with a pre-launch roadshow for corporate fleets and business users.

Eight left-hand drive A5 coupes were presented at dealerships around the UK, coinciding with the start of its TV advertising.

A ride-and-drive day will be offered to the contract hire and leasing industries prior to the right-hand drive A5’s launch on July 14.