Audi marches into 2010 with price slash

FRESH from its fifth consecutive year of record sales, Audi Australia has turned up the heat on its prestige rivals by cutting prices by up to $9500 as it passes on to customers the five per cent import tariff cut on January 1.

Peugeot has also announced substantial price cuts of up to $2200 on its Australian range, joining Mazda, Honda, Porsche and Suzuki in the cut-price camp.

Others are taking a wait-and-see approach, preparing to move only if major rivals pull out the price hatchet, or quietly making the cuts without fanfare.

However, not all car-makers are expected to follow the trend, instead attempting to use the opportunity to claw back some fat into their strained bottom lines while at the same time protecting resale values for current customers.

Audi today pre-empted tomorrow’s official VFACTS motor industry sales results announcement by announcing that it had sold a record 11,310 units last year – up 20 per cent on 2008. It also completed 60 consecutive months of record growth, tripling its annual sales tally since 2004.

It signaled its intention to maintain the climb up the sales ladder in 2010 by making across-the-board manufacturer list price reductions ranging from $1300 for the low end A3 models to $9500 for the flagship sedan A8 TDI quattro runout model, which falls from $220,900 to $211,400 (plus statutory and dealer charges).

Left: Peugeot 308 CC. Below: Audi A4.

Price cuts for Audi’s flagship sports car, the R8, are $8700 for the 4.2 FSI quattro and $9100 for the 5.2 FSI models. The latter’s R tronic version – the most expensive model in the Audi range – was priced at $366,900, but now slips to $357,800.

At the other end of the scale, the price of the A3 1.8 FSI S tronic is down from $49,990 to $48,100.

The top-selling A4 range enjoys price cuts of up to $4900, with the 1.8 TFSI sedan pricetag falling from $54,100 to $49,200. The A4 2.0 TFSI quattro S tronic sheds $3200 from its bottom line, now priced at $70,700.

Peugeot weighed in with price cuts across the range, with the biggest cuts saved for the 308 hatch petrol models. The base 308 XS 1.6 manual is now $24,990 (plus statutory and dealer charges). The diesel XS 1.6-litre HDI comes down $1700, bringing it under the $30,000 mark to $28,990.

The entry level Peugeot 207 models have been dropped $500, now starting at $21,990 for the XR five-door hatch.

The 207 GTi hot hatch price has been cut $1000, to $33,490, with the cabrio 207 CC Turbo is down $1400, to $39,990.

The mid-sized 407 diesel models have been given a price haircut of between $1000 and $1200, with prices now ranging from $40,990 for the SR 2.0-litre HDI to $46,990 for the ST Touring wagon.