Audi to produce Q5 SUV in China by October

Shanghai, March 9 (Gasgoo.com) Audi, the premium car arm of Volkswagen, plans to produce Audi Q5 in China in October 2009, Beijing Times reported today, citing FAW-VW Audi Sales Division.

FAW Audi's Changchun plant, to be completed by July, is scheduled to produce new A4 first and then Audi Q5, said Johannes Thammer, managing director of the FAW-VW Audi Sales Division.

Audi Q5 will be produced in China by October, Audi sources said. FAW-VW Audi Sales Division plans to import Q5 to China for sale before the new model is manufactured locally.

Audi Q5 made its global premiere at the 2008 Beijing Auto Show

Q5, the second Audi SUV model after Q7, measures smaller than Q7. Positioned as a medium-sized premium SUV, the Audi Q5 targets BMW X3 as its rival model.

China is Audi's second largest market around the globe, next to Audi's homeland Germany. Audi aims to sell 200,000 units in China by 2015.