A total of 82 luxury Audi Q8 cars – the flagship of the German automaker’s prestigious SUV range – arrived at Changchun Xinglong railway terminus in Changchun, capital of Northeast China’s Jilin province on Oct 17, after a 19-day trip on the China-Europe (Changchun-Manzhouli-Europe) train from the German city of Bremen.

Officials said it marked the facility’s first handling of imported vehicles, after it got the green light from authorities earlier in October to import vehicles.

It was also the first time that Audi has engaged in the large-scale freight transportation of vehicles using the China-Europe train service, officials added.

Previously, Audi vehicles from Germany have been transported by sea transport to Chinese ports, and then transferred to inland cities, taking 40 to 50 days.

The new China-Europe train service makes the transport safer, cheaper and more efficient, according to officials.

An official from Changchun international land port development company, who transported the vehicles, said that the company will further expand Xinglong railway terminus’s import business, improving its service and helping Jilin province to develop into an import vehicle logistics center in Northeast China.

A China-Europe train carrying 82 Audi Q8 vehicles arrives at Changchun Xinglong railway port in Changchun, Jilin province, on Oct 17. [Photo/chinadaily.com.cn]