Audi is Jamaica’s top premium brand
AUDI finished 2022 with another significant milestone while under the ATL Automotive Group as Jamaica’s number one premium vehicle brand.
“We believe this accolade was always going to happen given the investments the ATL Automotive Group has put in over the years in the brand,” said Damien Kerr, general manager — Oxford Road.
Kerr has been in service to the ATL Automotive Group for a decade at this juncture, including seven years as head of business for Audi Jamaica before assuming the position of general manager at the company’s flagship Oxford Road location.
The path to this goal began from the very day the ATL Automotive Group took over the brand in 2010. Audi was brought into the fold as its own tagline ‘Vorsprung durch Technik’ — translated into English as ‘Progress through Technology’ — merged well with ATL Automotive’s portfolio and goals.
From the start Audi made a splash, with both its showrooms. The state-of-the-art Audi Terminal on Oxford Road in Kingston was not only one of the largest automotive dealership investments in the island at the time and its presence continues to define Oxford Road to this day. On the other side of the island, the Audi Jamaica showroom in Bogue, Montego Bay, brought the brand to the discerning customers of western Jamaica. From then on, customers no longer had to go to Kingston for purchase and service. By this time Audi’s rapid growth had it circulating with the top German premium brands in Jamaica.
Kerr credited several more elements that laid the road to the current levels of success it enjoys including after-sales care, the sales team, and, of course, the model line-up that Audi offers to the Jamaican public.
With Audi’s technical prowess on show in every one of its vehicles, technicians of the highest grade must be employed to keep them running and to do this, Audi’s service team is constantly trained at international levels. Should further expertise be needed, even more technology is employed with Audi Jamaica having a direct connection to the factory using virtual reality, so that the German technicians can assist as if they were in the island.
“We have the after-sales service to back the models that we sell, as well as a talented sales team that we’ve developed over the years,” added Kerr.
Then there are the cars themselves.
“The brand itself has an awesome SUV [sport utility vehicle] line-up,” said Kerr.
This begins with the Q2; what Kerr explains is considered a ‘first’ SUV for young professionals looking to get into a premium brand. The Audi Q3 has been the best-selling premium SUV for the last three years. Audi’s international best-seller has been the Q5, which enjoys similar success locally. Then there are the two sides of the SUV coin, the luxurious seven-seater Q7 targeted at established professionals and those with more practical family needs, and its stylish coupé sibling, the performance-oriented Q8. It doesn’t just stop there, as the luxury, technology and performance Audi is renowned for is also found in its sedans, from the sporty A3 models to the limousine-like A6, there’s been an Audi for everyone. Not to be forgotten is its sports line-up — the S and RS line which saw the 2022 premier of the new S3 sedan which saw a high demand.
With Audi now at number one in the premium segment, there’s no looking back as the brand leverages its core value of ‘Being Ahead through Technology’ with an all-electric future. In October of 2022, Audi launched their first battery electric vehicles (BEV), the e-tron and the RS e-tron GT. The e-tron is the first premium all-electric SUV on the market, while the RS e-tron GT is also the first all-electric sports car available locally.
“The future is electric, and so you’re going to find that we’re going to have more electric cars being rolled out in the coming years. The e-tron family and the RS e-tron GT are the vehicles which will lead us into this new EV future,” said Kerr.
For those still not willing to give up on the internal combustion engine as yet, Kerr notes that 2023 will bring the high-performance RS3, RSQ3 and RS Q8 models, offering all the elements that have put Audi at the top of the premium segment.
Audi Jamaica is located at 1C-3 Oxford Road, Kingston 5, and Units 1-3 Bogue City Centre, Montego Bay. For more information, interested persons can visit www.atlautomotive.com, call 888-ATL-AUTO (285-2886)
Source: Jamaica Observer
