PM Sent.
I don’t think Audi are too concerned about the UK sales dipping, they are focusing more in the ever-growing **** and American markets that are worth more to them and investing heavily in those areas. Nothing will be better in terms of discounts in six months, probably the opposite. Now is the time to strike! It’s no secret that the last quarter of the year is the dealers slowest time for sales and traditionally the period when they are more likely to offer a better deal if only to hit end of year targets which can sometimes be more important to them than actually turning a decent profit, as was the case with my dealer. We can easily work out that the demand for the FL RS3 is not what Audi had hoped for, if it was then no dealer would need to discount it so soon, especially when they have very limited allocation. With sales falling sharply this year and expected to continue throughout next year too, Audi will of course review sale targets they expect of dealers in 2018 and lower accordingly. This could mean dealers not under as much pressure to meet those targets and less reluctant to give discounts. Only weeks ago Worcester Audi were giving many people on this forum discounts of around 5% on the RS3 and now they are telling people they are no longer discounting the RS3/TTRS??
Also consider this, since the EU referendum in June last year, Ford & Vauxhall (like many other manufacturers) have been increasing prices on their entire range almost on a monthly basis and the CEO's of each blamed the devaluation of sterling as the reason. The best 3 selling cars in the UK (Fiesta, Corsa & Focus) have all increased in price by over 20% compared to what they would have cost you only June last year. Last time Audi increased their prices across the range (average 2%) due to exchange rate fluctuation was in 2010 and it was nowhere near as bad then as it is now. At current exchange rates, the base price of the RS3 is £4,000 more in Germany, they also do not get any of the below equipment as standard like us in the UK or anything else to make up for it, it's all optional ....
Heated front seats - €340
DAB radio - €300
Virtual cockpit - €310
Audi smartphone interface - €350
Connectivity package - €890
Audi connect 3 years subscription - €350
Audi sound system - €255
Auto dimming interior mirror - €255
Heated exterior mirrors - €125
Cruise control (just standard not adaptive) - €300
MMI navigation plus with MMI touch - €2490
That’s €6000/£5,000 of extras we get included. So if you factor that in too, it means the car is a massive £9,000 cheaper here in the UK than the country they are manufactured in! Why should this be so? They even pay slightly less VAT than us.
If no real progress is made between the UK and EU by end of March next year on Brexit, then it’s accepted by both the EU and UK government that we will likely leave the EU in March 2019 without a trade deal as six months will not be enough time to negotiate a deal and they need at least six months to ratify any agreements before we officially leave the EU. This is when the £ is likely to nosedive further and when Audi are likely to hike their prices, I expect by at least 3% as they will not be able to sustain current prices with a further weakening £. If this is the eventual outcome, then it will be bad news for those of us who want to buy an imported car from the EU from April 2019 as it will mean 10% tariff’s, pushing the base price of the RS3 to £50k+, but maybe good news for current owners who will see their cars residuals remain very strong.
