The Audi A1 - high prices hurting sales
It’s being reported that sales of the new Audi A1 are running well behind expectations because of high prices.
The Audi A1 launched this year to much fanfare – preceded by much of the now obligatory teasing – with a game plan to make the Audi A1 the “…only premium car in its sector”. Or at least that was the game plan according to Werner Zimmermann, Audi’s Head of Quality, in a teaser video for the new A1.
And it’s a very good game plan. Audi has become the success it has because of its beautifully understated design, simple but elegant cabins and great build quality. Building cars with such strong and appealing attributes allows Audi to charge a premium for their cars. But is the premium for the “only premium car in its sector” just too big? Is the price of the Audi A1 just too high?
It seems that Audi’s aim of selling 100,000 A1s a year is looking like it’s on sticky ground. Since the Audi A1 launched in August it seems Audi has shifted only 20,000 A1s despite having built 45,000. Which is being attributed to the rather high price.
Starting point for the A1 is the 1.2 TFSI SE 3dr which comes in at £13,420. That’s nearly £2,000 more than the starting point for a MINI and a whopping £4,000 more than the entry-level Fiat 500. In fact, the entry-level A1 is only £1,000 less than the entry-level Golf – a car from the next sector up and far from bargain basement itself.
Audi are bringing forward the launch of the 5 door A1 to try and boost sales. Perhaps they should also look at a lower-prices and a lower-specced entry-level model too. The VW Polo – sister car under the skin – starts at nearly £4,000 less.
Which makes it hard to justify a £13.5k entry-level price.
Have your say - leave a comment