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Audi of America president says U.S. not ready for A1 subcompact

 
8 2,115 views Feb 3, 2009
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Depending who you're talking to, Americans are either SUV-loving small-car haters or clamoring for more Euro-hatches to be brought to U.S. streets. Audi of America president Johan de Nysschen thinks most Americans fall into the former camp, saying that the country's car-buying populace just isn't ready for the A1 premium subcompact, despite statements to the contrary by global Audi personnel.

The judgment comes from polling Audi's U.S. dealers, who apparently returned a resounding refusal to sell the A1 at a price tag around $25,500, reports Automotive News. "They said: 'This is impossible. You cannot charge this much for small cars,' " de said de Nysschen. "In their mind, they were thinking $18,000, because that's the conditioning our society still has."

Audi's A1 is expected to arrive on the global market as a 2011 model sometime during 2010. The car has been previewed twice in the form of the A1 Metroproject and A1 Sportback concepts. Already an S1 sporty variant is being discussed, setting it to do battle on equal ground with Mini's Cooper, which also has an S variant. Audi could one-up Mini, however, with the introduction of a hybrid, previewed by this concept.

The comparison is apt, as the Mini Cooper is arguably the only premium subcompact on the U.S. market at the moment, and Audi's A1 is expected to target that size and market segment over the niche being eyed by Toyota's iQ or the Volkswagen up!.

Though the A1 will be available to European buyers around the 2010-2011 time frame, it won't likely make it to the U.S. until sometime around 2015, or possibly even later, according to de Nysschen, giving the brand more time to develop a widespread public image in the U.S. "I'd like to get [the brand] entrenched much more strongly, and it will probably take us another five to six years. That will be the time that you can kind of roll down the market with a smaller car."
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Comments (8)

  1. ma_GreyRazor avatar GreyRazor Posted: 2/3/2009 2:40pm PST

    America not ready? That's a bunch of crap. I'd buy one in a heartbeat.
     
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  2. ma_NoNameDenton avatar NoNameDenton Posted: 2/3/2009 2:57pm PST

    We are not ready, in other words, Audi does not was a car here that does not make as much profit for them as the popular A4
     
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  3. ma_azlan avatar azlan Posted: 2/3/2009 4:36pm PST

    haha yea, well they better bring it to australia!
     
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  4. ma_mburleigh8 avatar mburleigh8 Posted: 2/3/2009 7:02pm PST

    As long as it gets good gas millage, i think they would sell well, but it is probably a good idea to wait untill the economy gets better.
     
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  5. ma_dr luke avatar dr luke Posted: 2/4/2009 3:28am PST

    thank you audi. another ridiculous decision for america. how will you ever succeed in the U.S. if you keep sending us cars with no MT and sport utilities that we dont want? Wake the f*** up!!!
     
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  6. ma_Roy avatar Roy Posted: 2/6/2009 8:46am PST

    I wouldn't have expected to agree with this guy, but he might be right. Why? Because he's looking at BMW's 135, which isn't selling as well as expected because it's about the same price and weight as BMW's 335. So what Audi really seems to be saying here is that they can't separate the A1 and A3 enough in terms of price or other advantages. They might be right, but I know plenty of college kids who'd like a choice beyond the Toyota Corolla and the Honda Civic. So, if they could get a sexy little number like this one in at that price point, they'd have a winner.... which might be their plan for the VW Polo
     
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  7. ma_PluckyDucky avatar PluckyDucky Posted: 2/15/2009 1:52pm PST

    I wouldn't buy an A1, well maybe i would if it cost 8,000. But since they will try selling it for 15K they can shove it .
     
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  8. ma_dickebird avatar dickebird Posted: 2/26/2009 3:55pm PST

    Well, Audi has it down, no doubt. Let's let someone else eat our lunch for five years in the U.S. while the people there get used to the idea of a small, high quality SUV that gets 50 mpg.that they can't have. Brilliant. That's how you build brand loyalty.

    Or is it. With the possibility of a Polo SUV being manufactured in Mexico, it may be they just don't want to compete with another of their products. Which, if it is built there, will be coming to North America. Please bring it quickly.

    I've begged GM to build the H5 for years now...a small SUV with a diesel that gets incredible mileage. Just something a little higher off the ground that's small. But, no. They built the H3T instead. It's difficult to see why they're in such a financial bind, with all their clever foresight and extraordinary management.

    Dinosaurs would find their methods amusing.
     
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