Audi upbeat on recovery of demand

Audi upbeat on recovery of demand

The luxury car market is expected to end this year with sales growth of 5-10% to nearly 20,000 units, as well-heeled Thais are hardly affected by the sluggish economy, according to German Motor Work Co, an importer and distributor of Audi cars.

Well-off people still have strong purchasing power, says Ms Apasra, seen here standing next to the new Audi A8 Hybrid with executive director Tunyanon Leenutaphong.

"Rich people still have strong purchasing power. Political mayhem in the first half of the year just led them to put off their purchases slightly," said general manager Apasra Pradipasena. "Demand is recovering and sales are expected to surge in the last quarter."

Ms Apasra also projected sales would grow at the same pace in 2015.

Audi last month declared it would stage a comeback in the Thai market after keeping a low profile since 2010.

The brand has been available in Thailand for more than 20 years. Sales reached 1,500 annually between 1996 and 1997, but the distributor and parent company decided to avoid the Thai market when its retail prices failed to compete with German peers, Mercedes-Benz and BMW.

Audi sales have fallen below 50 vehicles a year over the past four years. Mercedes-Benz and BMW sold 10,144 and 7,536 units last year, respectively. For the first nine months of this year, Audi's sales amounted  to 75-80.

Ms Apasra said her company was upbeat it would achieve sales of nearly 100 vehicles this year. It aims to raise Audi sales to 200 next year and 500-600 units a year from 2016-18.

"German brands control 80-90% of Thailand's luxury car market and they maintain their sales very well," she said.

Mercedes-Benz now controls 57.7% of the German luxury segment, while BMW excluding Mini holds 42.3%. 

German Motor Work, part of the Yontrakit Group run by the Leenutapong family, aims to gain at least 10% of the Thai market by 2024. Audi used to have a 12% market share in 1996-97 with annual sales of 1,500 vehicles.

Seven Audi models are available in Thailand — the A3, A4, A5, A6, Q3, Q5 and Q7, all imported from Europe. The Ingolstadt-based parent firm is subsidising price cuts of 5-18% to stimulate sales in Thailand.

Japanese car maker Toyota reported yesterday that domestic car sales in Thailand over the first nine months fell by 37.3% to 648,410 units.

Toyota controlled 36.7% of the market. It reported sales of 238,128 vehicles, down 28.7%. Isuzu's sales fell 25.5% to 120,131, with Honda down 57.8% to 74,671.

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