Yesterday, the company introduced two new versions of its A6 mid-sized car: the petrol-powered A6 2.0 TFSI and diesel-powered A6 3.0 TDI.

The 2.0 TFSI is priced at Bt3.59 million, while the 3.0 TDI, with a 3,000cc turbo diesel engine, costs Bt5.59 million.

The company plans to sell a combined 10 units of the two models per month.

Audi Asia-Pacific general manager Gunther Scherz said Audi recognised the difficult situation it was currently caught in.

"We are selling CBUs [completely built-up units] in a CKD [completely knocked-down] environment, and the only thing we can do is help with the prices," he said.

Scherz said parent company Audi was keeping down the free-on-board price as much as possible.

In Thailand, Audi cars are sold through Thai Yarnyon, a subsidiary of the Leenutaphong family's Yontrakit Group.

"We need to keep a presence in Thailand and remain competitive in the CKD environment," he added.

In order to justify production, Audi needs a volume of 20,000 units for the entire Asean region.

"With 40-per-cent local [Asean] content, we can make use of the Asean Free-Trade Agreement and exchange the cars between Asean countries," he said.

However, Scherz said achieving 40-per-cent local con-

tent would be costly for the company.

Audi, which is part of the Volkswagen Group, has been highly active in China, where it has annual sales of 70,000 units, far ahead of its two other German rivals.

"We have a strong presence in China, and now we are focusing on new markets like Asean," he said.

Scherz said that in the future, the tax system in Asean could change, spelling out a new scenario for Audi.

"We are looking at different scenarios right now," he said.

Kingsley Wijayasinha

The Nation