Audi China Dealers Demand $4 Billion to Cover Sales Losses
- Newly formed group blames losses on over-expansion of network
- Daimler, BMW sales eroding Audi’s dominance in China market
An Audi AG TT RS coupe stands on display at the Beijing International Automotive Exhibition in Beijing, China, on Tuesday, April 26, 2016. The show opens to the public on April 27.
Photographer: Qilai Shen/BloombergAudi dealers in China are demanding 28 billion yuan ($4 billion) to cover losses over the past three years that they blame on the automaker adding too many distributors, potentially worsening a sales decline that saw BMW and Mercedes-Benz overtake the luxury brand last month.
The dealers met Thursday in Sanya, China, and issued a statement saying their newly formed group would oppose Audi’s planned formation of a second joint venture in China until the German maker managed to reach 1 million in annual sales in the country. Audi sold a little more than half that many units in China, including Hong Kong, last year.