The China-made Audi A3 Sportback and sedan will debut on the Beijing Auto Show in April and they will be launched on the China car market soon thereafter. Price was expected to start around 200.000 yuan, but new reports in China indicate the cheapest Audi A3 Sportback 1.4 TFSI will cost a hefty 240.000 yuan with the sedan coming in at 260.000. Chinese media say this is a lot of money for a locally made Audi of this size and type, and we agree.

The Audi A3 will be manufactured in China by the FAW-Volkswagen joint venture in a new factory in Guangdong Province. Power will come from 1.4 TFSI and 1.8 TFSI engines. The A3 Sportback is currently imported into China, the entry-level model with the 1.4 TSI costs 255.000 yuan, meaning the locally made version will be only 15.000 yuan cheaper, and that is a very small difference.

Normally, the price difference between a locally-made and an imported car of the same brand and type is about 20-25%, which is how the 200.000 yuan was calculated. Audi apparently expects Chinese car buyers will pay whatever asked for a fancy new car, and Audi might actually be right. The Audi brand is so popular that most buyers don’t mind paying too much. Fat profits almost guaranteed…