Audi to expand line-up for China's luxury car sector

Shanghai, April 13 (Gasgoo.com) German carmaker Audi, the luxury division of Volkswagen AG, plans to expand its product line-up for retaining its leadership in the luxury car sector in China, now the world's largest auto market, media reported.

Audi expects to lead China's luxury car market again with sales of 200,000 units in 2010 after selling nearly 160,000 cars last year in its largest overseas market. This year, its first-quarter China sales reached 51,449 units, surging 77% from a year earlier.

To meet the growing demand and boost its sales in this sector, Audi will increase its product portfolio in China to match the company's global line-up by 2020 as the country may overtake Germany to become Audi's largest market in the next few years.

Audi currently has three locally made models in China - the A4L, A6L sedan and Q5 SUV - and several imported models, including the A5/S5, A8/S8, Q7, R8 and TT/TTS, according to China Daily. The Audi Q5, produced in Changchun at the FAW-Volkswagen joint venture, will begin selling soon.

"The Chinese market should have whatever products the German market has," Johannes Thammer, general manager of the Audi sales division at FAW-Volkswagen, said recently during an "Audi Tech Day" promotion in the southern city of Guilin.

During its Audi Tech Day, the company displayed its Q5 HFC (hybrid fuel cell) as well as a pure electric concept car, the "e-tron", to illustrate its latest achievements in new energy vehicles.