AUDI, one of the luxury car brands linked to Volkswagen AG, denied a report that it is seeking to split from its parent company in China following the addition of a Chinese name on all its domestically made sedans that may inadvertently highlight the Audi brand.
Since May 1, FAW Volkswagen, VW's venture with First Automotive Works Group, added the Chinese name FAW Audi on home-made Audi A4 and A6 models which are produced in its plants.
The move comes five months after the Chinese government required automakers to provide more details of the models that are made in China on the car's body, including the maker's name, trademark and specification model.
However, previous media reports speculated the move may weaken Audi relationship with its parent.
"If you put Volkswagen on an Audi car, sometimes it is confusing for the customers," said Trevor Hill, executive director of Audi Division from Volkswagen (China) Investment Co Ltd.
"The law doesn't say that you have to put the full company name, so from Audi's point of view, it's a very good solution for us to choose the partner and the brand to keep the customer's focus on Audi," Hill told Shanghai Daily. "And we have no plans to do an independent operations separate from Volkswagen in China."
The Audi Division was created by FAW Volkswagen in January to take charge of the sales network for all home-made and imported Audi cars, which used to be done by FAW Volkswagen Sales Co Ltd.
Hill estimated that sales of Audi will grow faster than the whole auto market this year in China, the brand's fastest-growing market, but he did not reveal specifics.
In the first four months, sales of Audi in the domestic market doubled to 26,636 units from a year earlier after 7,475 units were sold in April, a 70 percent rise year on year. Last year, Audi sold 58,878 units in China, up 9.8 percent from 2004.
To boost its sales this year, Audi will launch its popular sports utility vehicle Q7 into China at the end of July to compete with BMW's X5 and Porsche Cayenne.
source:http://www.shanghaidaily.com/art/2006/05/15/277863/Audi_denies_split_from_parent_in_China.htm
Since May 1, FAW Volkswagen, VW's venture with First Automotive Works Group, added the Chinese name FAW Audi on home-made Audi A4 and A6 models which are produced in its plants.
The move comes five months after the Chinese government required automakers to provide more details of the models that are made in China on the car's body, including the maker's name, trademark and specification model.
However, previous media reports speculated the move may weaken Audi relationship with its parent.
"If you put Volkswagen on an Audi car, sometimes it is confusing for the customers," said Trevor Hill, executive director of Audi Division from Volkswagen (China) Investment Co Ltd.
"The law doesn't say that you have to put the full company name, so from Audi's point of view, it's a very good solution for us to choose the partner and the brand to keep the customer's focus on Audi," Hill told Shanghai Daily. "And we have no plans to do an independent operations separate from Volkswagen in China."
The Audi Division was created by FAW Volkswagen in January to take charge of the sales network for all home-made and imported Audi cars, which used to be done by FAW Volkswagen Sales Co Ltd.
Hill estimated that sales of Audi will grow faster than the whole auto market this year in China, the brand's fastest-growing market, but he did not reveal specifics.
In the first four months, sales of Audi in the domestic market doubled to 26,636 units from a year earlier after 7,475 units were sold in April, a 70 percent rise year on year. Last year, Audi sold 58,878 units in China, up 9.8 percent from 2004.
To boost its sales this year, Audi will launch its popular sports utility vehicle Q7 into China at the end of July to compete with BMW's X5 and Porsche Cayenne.
source:http://www.shanghaidaily.com/art/2006/05/15/277863/Audi_denies_split_from_parent_in_China.htm
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