More Audi models heading to China

Shanghai October 22 (Gasgoo.com) Volkswagen AG's Audi luxury brand has so far sold 1 million units in the Chinese market, another milestone in the brand's 22-year success story in China, where the German automaker will import more Audi models in the future, auto.ifeng.com reported Friday.

FAW-VW Automobile Co., Ltd., a passenger vehicle joint venture between FAW Group Corporation and Volkswagen Group, celebrated the handing over of the one-millionth Audi car in Changchun on October 20. The Audi board of management, the partners from FAW and more than 7,000 guests, including the plant employees, attended the ceremony.

The Audi brand will see its sales in China break the one million-unit mark in the next three years, said Xu Jianyi, General Manager of First Automobile Works (FAW).

Of the 1 million Audi cars sold in China, more than 900,000 units were built in Changchun. People usually say that the quality of premium cars will be lowered once they are locally produced, but Audi has been able keep its quality as good as it was, which has endeared it to the Chinese enthusiasts.

FAW-VW has an annual capacity of 300,000 high-end vehicles and is presently making the Audi A6L, A4L and Q5 Series models.

VW plans to increase the number of its Audi dealership in China from the current 157 in 106 cities to over 400 by 2013.

By 2015, more than 40 Audi models will have been introduced to China to cover each high-end vehicle segment, said Dietmar Voggenreiter, president of Audi China.

VW boosted Audi sales to 175,000 units in China in the first nine months of this year and will deliver over 200,000 units to customers in 2010, Dietmar Voggenreiter added.