All New Audi A6L--- King, or not?

The all new Audi A6L was launched and its starting price of 417.8k yuan has caused some dispute. And also， whether it could stay as the No.1 Best Executive Car.

Q: Previously, the price of new A6L used to start at 380k yuan, while this generation starts at 417.8k yuan. Is it too much for the starting price?  

A: If you only look at the price, the price of the new A6 is getting higher. The previous generation A6L started at 380,000 yuan, and earlier there was 350,000 yuan, and even more than 260,000 yuan for the official car special edition. But the configuration is no match for the new model. For example, the engine of this generation of entry-level models has a power of 140 kW and is equipped with a manual transmission. Based on these, the price increase of more than 20,000 yuan is not excessive, and many other configurations have been added.

Both the BMW 5 Series and the Mercedes-Benz E-Class have a starting price of more than 430,000 yuan, and they also have previously had an entry-level model of 390,000 yuan and 400,000 yuan. They raised the starting price when the latest model was launched. In this case, if the A6L sticks to the original price range, such as setting the starting price within 400,000 yuan, this means that Audi takes the initiative to leave the ABB camp.

The matrix LED headlights in Germany are 1,550 euros and become the standard for the new A6L. In addition, the intelligent mild hybrid system and Audi virtual cockpit have also become the standard configurations.

So overall, the price positioning of the new A6L is still very reasonable.

Q: How about the driving experience?

A: I participated in the launching event in Guangzhou this time. It took less than 40 kilometers from the airport to the hotel. After getting on the highway, I have been driving with the traffic because of the number of cars. I always felt that the speed had been too slow, but the speed was already close to 100 km/h, which is not in line with the actual feeling. The return journey from the hotel to the airport was pretty the same. This is the best experience of an executive car – it is powerful and quiet even at high speeds.

The voice interaction system is not as "smart" as some independent brands’. When I ordered to "go to Baiyun Airport", the system operated normally; but when I said "I want to listen to Swan Lake", then the system asked what I want to do, I have to say "I want to listen to music." The system started to navigate to the concert hall. It seemed that it was going to stay on the navigation channel. You need to switch channels first, but you must concentrate on driving, so you have to give up listening to music. German cars have to work hard in this regard.

Q: Do you think that the new A6L could stay as the No.1 Executive Car, or not?

A: In the 2014 official car reform, A6L began to withdraw from government procurement. At that time, many people thought that A6 would lose the throne. I also doubted the prospect of A6. But in fact, the A6L only lost to the BMW 5 Series in 2016 and returned to the throne in 2017 and 2018. It can be seen that the damage due to withdrawal from government procurement is quite limited, and it has a strong appeal in the high-end business people.

I have already said that besides their respective characteristics, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Audi's same-class models do not have much difference in technology configuration. The new A6L is no exception. Besides the product strength, the most important is the system capability, including the comprehensive system strength of local R&D, parts supply, vehicle manufacturing, economies of scale and cost, and sales and service network. Audi has an obvious advantage in this regard. Just in terms of brand power, Audi is slightly less than the two major rivals.

Overall, I don’t think that it will be a problem for Audi to keep its throne.