Audi to Offer Fuel-Light A1 Outside Europe, but U.S. Unlikely to See Model for Years
By Scott Doggett August 26, 2010
Audi will start selling the new A1 hatchback outside Europe next year and increase production to meet higher demand, Audi sales chief Peter Schwarzenbauer said in an interview with a Bloomberg reporter Wednesday.
Audi decided to expand sales of the fuel-efficient model after a website the automaker set up for the car attracted more than 150,000 interested customers worldwide, Schwarzenbauer said.
The A1, which will compete with BMW's 1 Series, Mercedes-Benz A-Class and the MINI Cooper, will start at 15,800 euros ($20,100) and will enter showrooms in Europe on Friday.
"We will expand our production capacities by 20 percent" for the A1, Schwarzenbauer said in Munich. Audi initially pledged to produce about 100,000 A1s, which can get more than 40 miles per gallon when fitted with the smallest of three offered engines, annually at its Brussels factory.
The A1, originally built to sell only in Europe, will be expanded to markets globally in 2011, with the exception of China and the U.S., he said.
The A1 will be introduced in China at some point after 2011, Schwarzenbauer said. The car will go on sale in the U.S. "at the earliest" with the model's second generation, he said. That likely would not be for at least several years.
Parent company Volkswagen could introduce the A1 "at short notice" in China, he said, adding that a decision on the timing of such a move hasn't been made yet. Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz have boosted sales this year because of surging demand in China and a rebound in the U.S.
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