Audi Q5 to hit China market in mid-2009

Shanghai, July 14 (Gasgoo.com) Audi AG, the premium unit of Volkswagen, will deliver its new smaller SUV, Q5, to the Chinese market in mid-2009, said xinhuanet.com today. To maintain its competitiveness and growth momentum in China, the German carmaker will boost its investment in its Chinese ventures and continue to introduce new models to its largest overseas market.

The Audi Q5, which made its global debut at the 2008 Beijing auto show in April, will go on sale in its home market Germany at the end of this year, and will enter the Chinese market in the middle of 2009. At first the Audi Q5 will sell in China as an imported car until its local production in China starts in early 2010. The Audi S5, as the high-performance sports version of the Audi A5, will also come to China later this year. Audi has plans to add at least 18 new models by 2015 to its current 22 models in China.

In June, Audi started building a second production facility with its Chinese partner FAW in Changchun to accommodate the rising demand. The new "all-digitalized" Audi plant in northeastern China is said to assemble the new-generation Audi A4, Audi Q5 and their spin-off models. The new plant will boost Audi's annual capacity in China to 200,000 units. The new facility is expected to operate by early 2010.

The Audi Q5 will be built using the new Audi MLP platform and will compete with the BMW X3, Infiniti EX, Mercedes-Benz GLK-Class, Saab 9-4X, Volvo XC60 and the upcoming Cadillac BRX. It will be offered with multiple engine configurations, including gasoline/petrol, TDI, and Hybrid gasoline / electric versions.

Audi sold 60,509 vehicles in China in the first half of this year, up 23% from one year earlier. "These results underscore Audi's market leading position in the premium segment in China," CEO Rupert Stadler said in a statement, adding that Audi's production capacities will be boosted in its "second home market."

Audi has been present in China since 1988 and sold more than 100,000 cars in the country for the first time last year.