Audi Announces the Development of the All-New Q1 SUV

INGOLSTADT, GERMANY – Dec 3, 2013: The Board of Management of AUDI AG has announced that an all-new Audi Q1 model will roll off the assembly lines in Ingolstadt in 2016.

“The Audi Q1 is part of our broad-based SUV strategy. It is designed on the basis of the modular transverse engine concept and will round off our Q series at the bottom end,” stated Rupert Stadler, Chairman of the Board of Management of AUDI AG.

As an attractive entry into the Q family, the new model will make a strong contribution to the company’s ongoing growth and will strengthen its international competitiveness.

The company is continuing its model offensive with the Q1 and will expand its product range from the current 49 to more than 60 models by 2020. By then, Audi will reach total sales of more than two million vehicles each year.

Audi Australia’s Managing Director, Andrew Doyle, says the timing is right to develop such a model for the Australian market.

“The rapid success of our premium compact SUV, the Audi Q3, shows how quickly Australia customers respond to a sophisticated, versatile vehicle that perfectly meets their needs,” Mr Doyle said.

“In a similar fashion, we expect that the Audi Q1 will attract a strong core of customers who want to drive an Audi Q model vehicle, but who prefer a more compact shape.”

“We look forward to giving our customers another strong option to consider in the SUV segment, and expect that the Q1 will drive continued growth for our brand here in Australia,” said Mr Doyle.

The decision to produce the new model will help to secure utilisation of capacity at the main plant in Ingolstadt over the long term. At this site, Audi produces models in the A and B segments, namely the A3 and A3 Sportback and the A4/A5 family.

Peter Mosch, Chairman of the General Works Council, welcomes the decision: “This is a clear commitment to Ingolstadt as a production site. We will continue to make all efforts to develop the plant even further as the leading technological site of the Audi Group.”

The decision on the new model is regarded as proof that employee codetermination secures jobs and that the internationalisation of the Audi group is not taking place at the expense of the sites in Germany.

The Q family currently comprises the Audi Q3, RS Q3, Q5, SQ5 and Q7. The Q5 is the global market leader in its direct competitive environment. This year, Audi had already delivered 194,430 units of the Q5 to customers by the end of October, which is 17 percent more than in the prior-year period.

Approximately 230,000 units of this model are planned to be built in 2013, which is more than half of the total Q volume. The proportion of the company’s total production volume accounted for by SUVs will be about 28 percent this year, and is planned to rise to more than 35 percent by 2020. Overall, Audi has produced and delivered to customers more than 1.5 million automobiles of the Q family since the market launch of the first SUV in 2006.