Audi Bets On Revamped A4 To Catch BMW And Mercedes-Benz
Audi AG (NSU.XE) is betting on the revamped version of its best-selling A4 model to catch up with archrivals BMW AG (BMW.XE) and Daimler AG’s (DAI) Mercedes-Benz brand.
The new version of the A4 is due to be launched in late November in Germany.
The premium brand and key earnings contributor for Volkswagen AG (VLKAY), Europe’s biggest automaker by sales, saw global sales up 8.3% on the year in the first nine months at around 741,300 cars.
However, lackluster demand in its home market, following an increase in value- added tax in January, led to a 9.9% slump in Audi’s September car sales in Germany to 18,358 vehicles.
Audi’s global car sales were up only 1.8% on the year in September at 84,700 cars, which lagged behind increases of 3.5% at BMW and 7% for Mercedes-Benz.
Global premium automakers continue to enjoy solid gains in this lucrative segment at a time when fierce price pressure, high raw material costs and leaner Asian rivals are putting pressure on many mass market manufacturers, such as General Motors Corp. (GM) and Ford Motor Co. (F).
BMW, the world’s best-selling premium brand, saw sales rise 6.3% on the year in the first nine months to 929,379 cars and still targets “growth in the higher single-digit percentage range” for the whole group this year.
Sales are expected to be fueled by strong demand for its Mini brand, as well as new versions of the X5 sports-utility-vehicle, the compact BMW 1-series and the best-selling 3-series.
At group level, BMW sold a record of 1.37 million cars in 2006, with the core BMW brand accounting for 1.18 million vehicles. BMW Group comprises the BMW, Mini and the ultra-luxury Rolls-Royce brand as well as a motorcycle unit.
The world’s second-biggest premium automaker by sales, Mercedes-Benz, posted a jump in global September car sales on the year to 114,100 vehicles. The Stuttgart-based automaker, whose parent company last week dropped Chrysler from its name and is now called Daimler AG, reached a new record for the first nine months of the year by delivering 872,700 vehicles to customers, up 3% compared with the same period last year.
Mercedes-Benz launched a revamped version of its best-selling C-Class model in all markets and expects sales momentum to pick up further in coming months through the introduction of the model’s station wagon version.
Audi still hopes this year to narrow the gap to its two German premium-brand peers as part of a broader effort to outpace both BMW and Mercdes-Benz by 2015.
Audi plans to reach a record of 950,000 car sales this year and expects to cross the threshold of 1 million car sales worldwide in 2008. As part of its expansion, Audi wants to maintain its market leadership in China, as well as boost sales in the U.S., where the company still trails BMW and Mercedes-Benz.
