Sirius Satellite signs a deal with Volkswagen and Audi

Sirius Satellite signs a deal with Volkswagen and Audi

Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. has signed on a deal with the makers of luxury vehicles Volkswagen and Audi. The deal would see Sirius becoming the exclusive provider of the pay-radio service to these two automobile manufacturers from next year.

Sirius is the second largest player in the satellite radio market in the United States after XM Satellite Radio Inc. and faces growing competition with even Motorola entering the market with their iRadio service.

Audi was previously getting components from both these companies and would now exclusively work with Sirius to reduce complexity in dealer ordering. The deal would run through 2012 thought the included parties have not revealed the details of the agreement.

Volkswagen has said that they are expecting to load Sirius systems on as many as 80 percent of its vehicles. The package would include three free months of Sirius radio and after that the consumer can chose whether to continue with the paid subscription or not.

XM has said that they are already dealing with Toyota, General Motors, Honda, Nissan, and Hyundai and are not bothered by the loss of Audi and Volkswagen considering the number of vehicles they sell in the country.