Volkswagen-owned Audi is known to be postponing the great roll-out of fixed-price EV automotive sales, reflecting a move by other brands to similarly row back on the direct-to-consumer agency sales.
Originally scheduled for the tip of next month, the choice to tweak its approach comes soon after Jaguar Land Rover abandoned its agency sales project with Stellantis also postponing the shift to direct sales until a minimum of the tip of 2026.
Audi was planning to transition by the tip of April, which might have included the sales of models just like the Q4 e-tron, e-tron GT, and Q8 e-tron being sold direct to automotive buyers.
The manufacturer now says the transition will begin with the introduction of only the brand new Audi Q6 e-tron, albeit sooner than scheduled, before being prolonged to other electric models ‘progressively and aligned with Audi’s latest model offensive over the approaching yr.’
A spokesperson for Volkswagen Group said: ‘Following the successful introduction of an agency model for the sale of electrical vehicles to personal consumers within the UK by the Cupra, Skoda and Volkswagen brands, Audi will adopt the identical model from April 2024, three months sooner than originally envisaged.”
One industry insider, commenting on recent announcements by various OEMs making u-turns on agency questioned whether the agency strategy had been sufficiently thought through in the primary place.
“Has the push market modified the considering? There is a much freer supply of cars into the UK market now and people cars should be sold. The challenge is, are there enough buyers for those latest cars?”
“Rates of interest are probably quadruple and even five, six times of what they were, when agency was established. Dealers all the time paid stocking costs but actually the OEM now has those cars and the pure funding cost of that is important.”
This Article First Appeared At www.am-online.com
