USA TO DELAY AUDI A1 DELIVERIES BY A GENERATION

Audi USA says it will not be bringing the tiny Audi Stateside anytime soon. In fact while a lot of countries like Mzansi where Audi trades should be receiving their first batches of the A1 between 2010 and 2011, the US may have to wait for a second generation model or at least a facelift.

According to the head of Audi America Johan de Nysschen, Americans are not prepared to pay the potential price tag that the baby quattro would come with. He said dealers were quite keen on taking on stock but when they were told what the price range could be, they backed off. De Nysschen claims that although Americans are warming up to smaller cars again during these tough times, they just aren’t warming enough to pay such high premiums for them. His main worry is that Audi is still a small player in the world’s biggest car market and people are still just getting used to paying top dollar for the brand’s bigger cars.

The Audi A1 is a future competitor of cars like the MINI and Alfa Romeo MiTo.It will spawn such creations as the Q1 mini SUV, a performance S1 and a cabriolet version.