Audis to become more expensive, in upmarket shift with focus on quality over quantity

Mercedes isn’t the only German premium carmaker shifting its focus to the upper end of the market. In future you can expect Audi products to become more desirable but more expensive too.

In an interview with Auto Express, Audi’s UK boss Jose Miguel Aparicio said the company planned to increase the centre of gravity in terms of price, with an increased presence in the larger segments.

“That means a significant increase in price, and in order to do it successfully we really need to create this brand attraction and desire,” Aparicio said.

“The essence for this is product innovation, but we also have to offer a premium customer experience to them; we are talking about making an evolution, moving upwards.”

Aparicio told the UK-based publication that within the Volkswagen Group, there was space below Bentley in which Audi could comfortably shift upwards.

“It’s not a fundamental change, it’s an evolution and has to be followed by adjustments to the customer experience; it’s something we have to do with our retail partners.”

The UK boss added that the dawn of the electric era gave premium brands a fresh chance to change how they are viewed by customers - although this could be as much of a risk as an opportunity.

According to Auto Express, Audi’s upmarket shift is also likely to usher in production versions of the Grandsphere and Urbansphere concepts, the former serving as a more luxurious A8 replacement and the latter spawning a new flagship SUV.

These concepts also signal a more ‘friendly’ exterior design language for the Ingolstadt-based brand.

In 2023, former Audi design boss Marc Lichte told Top Gear that the brand’s future car designs would be “softer, more friendly, (and) less aggressive”.

As with Mercedes, which is discontinuing the A-Class, Audi is planning to axe its more affordable product, with former Audi CEO Markus Duesmann announcing as far back as 2021 that the Audi A1 will not live beyond its current generation.

The Audi A3 is also looking set to move upmarket, as the next-generation model due in 2027 is believed to be electric-only, which will inevitably shift pricing upwards.

However, Audi appears to have shelved its plans to become 100% electric by 2033, with media reports stating that the company may keep some of its internal combustion models beyond this date if demand for them persists. Which it most certainly will.

Interestingly, Audi has also backtracked on its previously announced naming strategy, that was to give even numbers only to electric cars and odd numbers to combustion models.

Audi said the about turn is due to feedback from its customers and dealers, who were clearly confused by the move, Cars and Driver reports.

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