Is Audi retiring from Malaysia slowly or not with this news about Audi Setia Alam?
When Audi Setia Alam first opened with fanfare it was the ninth official Audi sales outlet in Malaysia and the first from Rimau International. This impressive building which was the Audi Setia Alam 4S center and was a landmark 4-storey location, greeting motorists entering the upmarket neighbourhood of Setia Alam.
Before Audi Setia Alam opened, Audi Centre Glenmarie was the largest Audi showroom and service in Malaysia and when this facility opened it immediately was the largest Audi dealership in Malaysia, occupying a land area of over 100,000 sq. ft., featuring a showroom floor with display capacity of up to 12 new cars, an additional 8 cars at the Audi and an approved plus section which carried used Audi vehicles of all segments.
This impressive facility also provided quality after sales for its customers with a total of 20 service bays, as well as a premium reception area and lounge. A substantial amount of investment went towards ensuring that the service center was fully equipped with the latest equipment and tools from Audi AG, as well as the necessary technical training for staff in order to guarantee customer satisfaction from a well trained team.
Now, we see this announcement shared with us from some Malaysian Audi owners who are worried that their favorite car brand might be slowly retiring from Malaysia due to lower sales in the last few years (we have reported this before and it is due to the lack of branding investment from the regional Audi office in Singapore).
Even the recent arrival of the Audi Q5 Sportback for RM404,878 and the Audi Q2 Facelift for RM228,526 was a quiet affair with no media launch and branding done in Malaysia.
Audi Singapore is not giving Malaysia any effort and this is probably why Audi Setia Alam is …?
A little history, from 2015 to June 2018 there was a flurry of activity from the Audi Malaysia office with a strong team in place trying to give Mercedes-Benz Malaysia and BMW Malaysia a tough fight. It only managed to nudge the sales figures up a smidgen.
BMW and Mercedes had invested heavily years earlier in local assembly and had a stronger dealer network around the country and so their year on year sales continued to rise while Audi sales number in Malaysia took a slow year on year drop.
However, with a fully imported vehicle range against the strong local assembled vehicle range from Mercedes-Benz and BMW, Audi Malaysia has never been able to challenge when it comes to selling prices. Despite being a well built, well engineered vehicle, the Audi range is priced out of its segment, from the Audi A3 to the Audi Q8.
Meanwhile, over the years, used reconditioned Approved Permit holders who were enjoying lower import duty payments were happy to provide Malaysian Audi lovers with a range of sport infused RS models that were looed after by private workshops for after-sales and maintenance.
We are sure the used reconditioned market in Malaysia is selling more than a 1,000 plus units a year (Audi Malaysia official new imported vehicles get about only 200 to 250 customers a a year) and this is what Audi Malaysia could be selling if they start local assembly.
