BMW has recently launched their 330e Plug-In Hybrid for RM248,888.00 and Mercedes Benz previewed their C350e plug-in hybrid a few days earlier with an asking price of just RM299,000.00 with order taking at all showrooms in progress immediately. So where is Audi with their A4 Plug-in hybrid? They are very last to this party and this is not the first time.
When Audi Malaysia launched the Audi Q7, they did not consider the Volvo XC90 T8 Plug-in hybrid as a competitor and only concentrated their marketing pitch against the BMW X5 and the Mercedes ML. Then Volvo Cars Malaysia came in quietly to the luxury SUV segment with their impressive XC90 and Audi had hardly any takers for their all new Q7. Buyers flocked to Volvo showrooms and demand rose, even overtaking BMW.
Now with the 330e and C350e making strong headway with Malaysians buyers, Audi does not have an A4 Plug-in hybrid to sell and even the long overdue A4 2.0TFSI is yet to be launched at its indicated price of RM240,000ish. This only puts Audi in Malaysia even further back against its German and even Swede rival as Volvo Cars is currently selling more vehicles in Malaysia over Audi.