Dubai: Ongoing quality issues and recalls of cars are a wake-up call for the entire car industry, a spokesperson for German carmaker Audi's Middle East subsidiary in Dubai told Gulf News yesterday.
"We are not very thrilled about it," said Karin Haferkorn, Audi Middle East spokeswoman. "But, luckily, there haven't been any problems with Audi models lately," she said.
Haferkorn was talking after it was revealed on Tuesday that a model of one of Audi's main competitors in the SUV segment, the Lexus GX 460, was facing serious safety issues.
Safety risk
Toyota has asked its US Lexus dealers to halt sales of the GX 460 after a report published in a consumer magazine called the model a "safety risk".
The report said the GX 460 had handling problems that could cause it to roll over during sharp turns.
"It is remarkable that renowned brands like Toyota are facing such issues," Haferkorn said. "But eventually the customer benefits from it. The industry is urged to turn it's attention on the supply chain and improve quality."
The German carmaker, part of Volkswagen Group, said its sales in the Middle East grew by 8.5 per cent in 2010 so far, with a rise of 30.8 per cent in March 2010 alone compared to March 2009.
With 1,579 cars sold in the first three month in the region, the trend likely will continue, said Peter Schwarzenbauer, member of the board of management for marketing and sales at Audi.
Within the Middle East, the UAE, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia remain Audi's most important markets in terms of volume. With almost 500 units sold in 2010 so far, Audi's Q7 SUV currently is the best selling model for the brand. In the UAE in the first quarter, 223 Q7 models have been sold, Haferkorn said.
