| Actor Lee Jin-wook poses with the new Audi A6 sedan during the vehicle's launching event at the Banyan Tree Club & Spa in Jung-gu, Seoul, Wednesday. Yonhap |
By Nam Hyun-woo
Audi Korea launched the new A6 sedan in the domestic market, Wednesday, seeking a fast recovery in sales, which slowed in the first half of the year.
As the new A6 arrives, competition in the imported brands' domestic midsize premium sedan segment will be heightened further, with the Mercedes-Benz E Class facing strong challenges to its market dominance.
“This is a very special event. It marks the beginning of the new chapter of Audi in Korea,” Audi Korea Executive Director Jeffrey Mannering said during the new A6's launch event at the Banyan Tree Club & Spa in Jung-gu, Seoul.
“Audi Korea will deliver premium brand value to more customers by launching the new Audi A6 with a competitive product configuration and price in the most fierce premium midsize sedan segment in Korea.”
The full change model, the new A6 45 TFSI Quattro, is the eighth generation of the A6, which sold more than 76,000 cars in Korea since 2013. It is the biggest version of the A6, with a 4.95-meter long body and 2.92-meter wheelbase.
It is powered by an in-line 2.0L 4-cylinder direct injection gasoline engine, yielding the maximum output of 252 horsepower 37.7 kilogram-meter torque. Audi's full time all-wheel driving system Quattro offers a stable driving performance, which Mannering said is suited to Korean road and weather conditions.
It accelerates from standstill to 100 kilometers per hour in 6.3 seconds, and has a combined fuel economy of 11.4 kilometers per liter.
Along with a number of exterior design improvements, especially its matrix LED headlights and LED taillights, the new A6 offers various safety and convenience features as standard, such as such as adaptive cruise assist, pre-sense 360 degrees and intersection assists.
Audi Korea released the new A6 in two versions of standard and premium. The standard version is 66.8 million won and the premium version is 70.7 million won.
With the launch of the new A6, Audi Korea is seeking to expedite its sales recovery.
Audi also has been in a sales slump this year, selling only 4,763 vehicles from January to August, as it failed to secure models that passed the strengthened domestic emission certification by the environment ministry. The sales rebounded in September, delivering 1,996 vehicles, thanks to the mass delivery of the Q7 SUV.
“Since the new A6 is a volume model, we expect a further sales growth later this year,” an Audi Korea official said.
| Audi Korea Executive Director Jeffrey Mannering speaks during the launch event of the new A6 at the Banyan Tree Club & Spa in Jung-gu, Seoul, Wednesday. Courtesy of Audi Korea |