Audi A1 sales sluggish - dealers blame high price

i am pretty sure that lots of younger people love this car and would like to buy it but they cannot afford it. I don`t know if older people (30+) with money in their banks would buy such a car. If u look at the MINI, it attracts younger people but as an Icon of the past also many, many older (30+) women (mainly) as well and those customers have a solid job and can afford it. i mean my mother (62) looooves her MINI to death. i gave her one as a birthday present 2 years ago when she turned 60 and she is totally in love and when she is talking about it, she still behaves like a 5-year old. lol. as an Audi driver (and lover) i showed her some pics of the new A1 when it came out this year. The first thing she said is, that it is too aggressive and angry looking and looking at it doesn`t make her happy. The MINI does. here is the story: http://www.motor-talk.de/forum/ich-habe-meiner-mutter-den-traum-vom-mini-erfuellt-t2078156.html it?s unfort. in german, but if u scroll down the thread, u will find some pics of my mother and the car.

ok thats a pretty random story but im glad your grandmother loves her mini

too pricey

I reconsider my comment, don't think it's the price ... perhaps the reliability/cost of ownership :D

Hmm, a decently specced A1 would be close to ?20k. I'd rather walk into a VW dealership and haggle down the price of a Golf TDI 170 GTD.

A lot of analysts are saying much the same thing as the comments here. That the A1 is not distinct enough, like the MINI is, to warrant such a high price. It's really just a smaller Audi and that may not be enough to attract the kinds of young buyers it needs. Mini's are expensive too, compared to the likes of more practical models such as the Renault Clio or VW Polo. But they have a mystique that those models don't have. And the A1's success or failure depends on it creating the same kind of thing.

The fact that it looks like SHIT doesn't matter???

As a new car to the segment i'm not really surprised its not selling as expected. But wouldnt it have made sense to compare sales with DS3 which is also new unlike mini which has been around for a while and thus has a rep already... Would i buy it? No all small cars to me a jus too girly

Perhaps the Polo is such a good car from what is basically the same manufacturer, and it is hard to justify the A1's extra cost.

That?s no wonder! The design of the A1 is starnge and inharmonious. And it?s too expensive for a newcomer! The MINI is cult That?s the point Audi ignored in the pricing.

too expensive; not a good looking little car; at least three (cheaper) versions of the same sh!t on the market, let's say the European market : Polo gti, Fabia rs, Ibiza fr... And there are plenty of little "hot-hatches" , everyone has at least one in their production range: PSA, Fiat, Opel/ Vauxhall, Honda, Mini and so on... who's buying all these? I don't thnik this is a strong segment of the motor industry to invest in. Audi, you should go for that A2 instead (light, small, sofisticated eco-friendly city car)

glad to hear that, they cant conquer mini market with polo and justin timberlake :)

I'm a diehard mini driver, the 2006 version. its not a perfect car but it triggers emotions. and that's wath the audi is missing. the audi is just a new scaled a3 ore a4 ore a6...... and with the agressiv "eyes" audi will sell the older affluent customer. especially the women. the mini is both, male and female. but if you see the car, will guess directly if the driver is a girl or a man. no one says ever to me, your car is a girly car :-) the a1 is the trying to bring luxury in the compact class. if i want a luxury car, i wan't buy such a small car. (sorry for my english, i'm german ;-)

Maybe the problem is not the car in itself, maybe it's more the fact that Volkswagen have become too upscale for their own Volk. There is enough prestige in the VW badge for you to buy a full spec Polo and you won't feel inferior to Audi A1 drivers, not that you should in any case. Furthermore, if you are looking for a stylish sporty city car you have more appealing options like the Mini S, the Alfa Mito Quadro (personal favorite), Fiat 500 Aba, Citroen DS3, even the in-house Polo GTi will get the job done.

30,000 in 4 months, when the plan is for 100,000 a year isn't far off target- its a little slow but hardly a disasterous failure

Here's the biggest problem of all: Audi's refusal to sell the A1 in the US market. Hopefully, with the five-door A1 coming very soon (and possibly a more powerful engine), the A1 will arrive in the US market. After all, the A3 five-door hatchback has done fairly well in the US market, and the five-door A1 will likely do the same.

I see LOADS of Polos around town. The A1 is pretty much a Polo at a higher price, so people are likely to go for the model which comes at a cheaper price. Oh, and lets not forget the A1 is targeting people who go for cars such as the DS3, MINI and 500. That's a tough task.

I think the arrival of the awd RS1 will add a tiny bit of kudos to the range. Only problem is I've just checked the prices of A1's on sale in the UK right now and there's a diesel competition line model on sale for ?25k! I think the RS1 will end up having a laughable price tag.

So an Audi A2 was a big mistake. They've admited they shouldn't use aluminium alloy space frame, as it made the whole car extreme expensive. So they made A1 from steal and started to sell it with big price tag as well. Will they ever learn?

I don't understand why so much fuss about a car that is not special in any way at all .. MINI is much more interesting, nothing to compare here ..