Imported Audi models to see price rise in Oct

Shanghai, August 18 (Gasgoo.com) German carmaker Audi, the premium sedan division of Volkswagen Ag, has recently announced its plans to raise the prices of some Audi cars by 0.9 percent starting October 6, and as a result, the imported Audi models for sale in the China market will increase correspondingly, said sina.com today.

The Audi models to have the price hike will include the Audi A4 sedan, Audi Q7 SUV, Audi TT Coupe and Audi R8 race-car. A Beijing dealer of imported Audi cars said that these imported models are expected to have more than 0.9% price rise because the taxes on imported cars will increase if these cars are higher priced at their place of origin. However, the Audi dealership said it has not received any price rise instructions yet from the German carmaker.

The Chinese government will increase the tax on high-emission vehicles starting September 1 and this will push up the selling prices of these cars. Most dealerships of imported Audi cars in Beijing have halted their sales to wait for the price rise. The imported Audi models of high emissions such as A6L, A8L, Q7, and R8 are not available now and their prices are expected to rise by 60,000 yuan ($8,780) to 80,000 yuan from September, said an industry insider.

Audi Ag aims to sell 1 million cars worldwide this year, and 1.5 million units in 2015, including 200,000 units in China. The expansion in the huge Chinese market has become an indispensible part of Audi's strategic global growth in near future.