As plans to expand domestic Chinese production of Mercedes-Benz cars develop further, rival luxury brand Audi is instead embarking on importing more vehicles to the country.

On the unveiling night of Audi's R8 Spyder Matrix (pictured above), FAW-VW Sales Executive Vice President Zhang Xiaojun told the Beijing Youth Daily that the joint venture would be bringing over a slew of new Audi vehicles to the country, in order to both increase its brand image and lay the foundation for eventual domestic production.

According to Mr. Zhang, although the joint venture's domestically manufactured vehicles were all leaders in their respective segments, the true appeal behind FAW-VW's Audi vehicles lies in their foreign charm. As a result, a key goal of the JV is to import more models to China. The number of Audis imported more than doubled from last year, with the total amount from January to July exceeding 30,000 units. In addition to the R8 Spyder and A8L (pictured below), Audi will be bringing over the A1 subcompact and A7 Sportback wagon in the latter half of the year.

Despite the recent declines in the automobile market, Mr. Zhang believes that prospects for luxury vehicles in China will continue to remain bright for many years to come. If Mr. Zhang's assessment is correct, Audi should have no problem fulfilling its 2015 sales goal of 700,000 vehicles.