Audi to sell the Q7 TDI in Japan
Click on picture above for a complete high-resolution gallery of the Audi Q7 TDI (V12 model)
It quite seems that the Japanese will soon have more diesel cars available. We already knew about the X-Trail diesel which is going on sale in a few weeks, but now another manufacturer has announced plans to sell a diesel model in Japan: Audi, the marque that created TDI engines. Somewhat surprisingly, Audi did not announce the upcoming A1 or even the A3 bestseller for Japan: instead, the company will be bringing its large SUV, the Q7, to Japan and it's expected to go on sale in 2010. Fortunately, the Audi Q7 3.0 TDI will spot Audi's latest antipollution measures, such as an AdBlue-based NOx catalyst.
As our readers surely know, Japan is still a very closed market for diesel cars (more so than the U. S.), with motorists thinking of diesel engines as noisy, smelly and truck-like. According to German Car Blog, Audi expects that 10 percent of the their car sales could be powered with diesel cars by 2015.
Gallery: 2008 Audi Q7 V12 TDI quattro
[Source: German Car Blog]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
ryan 9:52AM (9/12/2008)
The anti-diesel feeling is strong here. I just read an article that put down the diesel X-trail since the gap between gasoline and diesel has been closing as of late. Historically, diesel has always (as long as I can remember) been cheaper than gasoline. The premium on the truck is also quite high (around $4500 if I remember correctly) which could dissuade some potential buyers.
The end result is that only smart people who do their calculations will end up getting the diesel X-trail. They do pay for themselves if you keep the car long enough. Wait a second, did I allude to people who buy SUVs as being smart? And did I say keep the car long enough? We all know that people who drive SUVs are the bane of the human race and that Japanese people dispose of their cars as quickly as outdated cell phones and single use chopsticks!!!
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Chris 4:43PM (9/12/2008)
I watched them film a commercial for this on the street in Berlin by the Sony Center on August 25th. Pretty slick.
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