SINGAPORE – By the end of 2024, people shopping for a new Audi car here can buy one online or by visiting a new showroom near Chinatown.
The current showroom in Alexandra Road, operated by agent Premium Automobiles, will stop selling Audi cars when its stock runs out. But the agent will continue to provide after-sales support.
The new Audi Singapore showroom, which will be ready by the end of the year, is on the ground floor of Cross Street Exchange, a mall at the junction of New Bridge Road and Upper Cross Street, The Straits Times has learnt.
The German carmaker’s online platform, which will be ready by November, allows a buyer to complete sales transactions as well as find out about stock availability, finance, insurance and used car trade-in.
The development means that Audi will sell new cars directly to customers in Singapore and not through Premium Automobiles’s Alexandra premises.
As such, Audi will no longer be represented in an area where the major car brand showrooms are located.
It follows fellow German brand, Porsche, which ended its arrangement in 2023 with its dealer and now sells cars directly to consumers.
Audi Singapore is a direct subsidiary of the German car brand, and Premium Automobiles has been the brand’s local representative since 1999.
The majority of cars sold in Singapore are sold through authorised dealership arrangements.
Customer test drives and in-person consultation will be conducted at Audi’s new showroom, which will also serve as an event space for exhibitions. It was still under renovation when ST visited it on Sept 6.
Meanwhile, Audi Singapore will hold roadshows in shopping malls and other activities. This includes one at Suntec City, which is running until Sept 8.
In a phone interview, Audi Singapore managing director Markus Schuster told ST that Premium Automobiles will continue to provide after-sales functions, which include maintenance and repairs for existing cars and new ones bought through the new set-up.
The preparation of a new car before it is delivered to the customer will also continue to be handled by Premium Automobiles.
Mr Schuster said that the project is an initiative of the Singapore office, done in consultation with Audi headquarters in Germany.
“If we are successful, we are happy to roll this out to other markets,” he added.