Australian Audi customers won’t necessarily pay the price for the brand’s premium push, according to local executives.
The brand’s UK boss, Jose Miguel Aparicio, recently told Auto Express there will be a “step upwards in terms of premiumness, increasing the prestige, desirability and perception of the brand, and more interested in the quality of business than the quantity”.
While that’ll inevitably mean price hikes for buyers, Audi Australia director Jeff Mannering isn’t so sure that local buyers are ready for the brand to become an exclusive, ultra-luxury manufacturer.
“The new shape of Audi, the quality of the build of the cars and the look, I think that in itself makes it a more premium product,” Mr Mannering told CarExpert at the launch of the new Q6 e-tron.
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Audi Grandsphere Concept
“I think to say that you’re going to pay more for a car is probably something where you have to position yourself in the market at the right price, because we’ve still got our core competition, some other German brands that are around.
“You can’t actually price yourself out of the market, because who buys your car is actually dictated by the customer. So if you were really expensive, you might say it’s more premium, but you’ve got to be in line with competition.
“It’s one of the jobs that we look at every day, how we position cars.”
In Australia, Audi finished third in the German luxury sales race behind BMW and Mercedes-Benz last year.
Its best-selling models were the more affordable A3 and Q3, while the mid-sized Q5 SUV also remains popular. That sales split suggests an unwillingness to spend up, although buyers have shown a preference for higher trim levels within model ranges.
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Audi SQ6 e-tron
“We have quite a high mix of S and RS models, and I think that will definitely continue,” said Peter Strudwicke, product planning manager for Audi Australia.
Nevertheless, Audi Australia will continue to target all corners of the luxury market, despite the brand’s move to prioritise more expensive and more profitable models globally.
“You can add value to a car to keep it refreshed, so you don’t have to go up with huge amounts of inflation. You just add add options, and you make it a value proposition for the customer,” said Mr Mannering.
“With the Q6 e-tron we’ve got the Q6 Performance, we’ve got the Quattro, and we’ve got the S – different segments for different customers. There’s always a person that’s looking for the mid range, and there’s always a customer that’s looking for the entry into the into the range itself.”
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