Audi's new model onslaught

The MINI-rivalling Audi A1 will definitely reach Australian shores sometime next year, says Audi Australia's General Manager Corporate Communications, Anna Burgdorf.

"It's definitely a car for Australia," she told the Carsales Network during the launch of the latest Q5 variants to be released locally, the 2.0 TDI and 3.2 FSI models.

When asked about the Q3 SUV, which was recently confirmed would go into production, she was less certain, although there remains a fairly strong likelihood of us seeing the sub-Q5 model here.

"It's definitely something we will look at for Australia," she said. "If there's a market here, as long as there's a business case for it, you'll see it here."

On the basis of Audi's track record, we would take that to mean 'yes' for the Q3 in Australia...

Burgdorf did not care to comment on whether we'll see the A5 Sportback Down Under -- on the very sensible grounds that it's only just officially confirmed for production (more here). The 'A5 with two extra doors has been undergoing testing in Europe (more here).

Burgdorf did say that the V10-engined R8 will reach us in July, but was unsure as to whether the recently unveiled Q5 with the S4 engine (see our report on Worthersee '09 here) will actually see the light of day. The Worthersee event is traditionally a forum for design studies and it's by no means certain that any vehicle displayed there will actually go into production.

And you would question whether there's much of a market for such a wildebeest of a car in Australia anyway, but then Audi does manage to locate market niches that normal mortals wouldn't find with a macro lens and a micrometer.

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