In recent years Audi has become more of a presence in the US Who is responsible for this? Rupert Stadler, CEO of Audi since 2007 is almost exclusively responsible for the push to make Audi a Benz or BMW. Stadler stated that his goal is to have Audi sell two million units a year by 2020. Last year he surpassed Mercedes-Benz in volume by about a hundred thousand. Interestingly enough, in the US Audi is third to the two other luxury powerhouses. My guess is that to get the extra 500 thousand units by 2020 Stadler will have to increase his presence in the US even more than he has already done. So far this year they are not even close to being on pace to pass either in the US. Sales in the UK were up 60% last year. He must find a way to make this happen across the pond as well.
To allow Stadler time to complete this ambitious goal, VW has extended his contract as CEO for five years. In this industry a five year contract is significant. Most contracts are for two years. VW must be confident that he has the ability to make his goals a reality.
As VW pushes hard into the Chinese market, they are experiencing increasing profit. This may be because of the growing economy over there and the ability of the Chinese people to buy increasingly more expensive cars. So VW has both the upper middle class and Audi has the upper class. Seems like a good business model.
I think that as Audi continues to transition from a super luxury sports car to the more Benz or BMW-esque models, they will definitely see increased sales in the US. America has fallen in love with the Audi, and as it becomes more affordable and appealing to the average US consumer (as opposed to the extremely wealthy, high upper-class american consumer), I would expect sales to increase significantly.
I think Audi’s overall quality is much better today than ten years ago. The increase in overall quality may have helped Audi’s sales. However, in China, Audi is confronted by German giants such as BMW and Benz, as well as many other strong competitors. Its share of market has dropped consistently, primarily because the sales of A6 have dropped. Before 2006, Audi A6 is the only semi-luxury car that offers great legroom. A6 dominates the market of semi-luxury cars: black A6s were the favorite of every businessman and government official. Then, both BMW and Benz begun to build longer versions of their 5 series and E class in China. Today, Audi is still a powerful player in China, but it is no longer a dominant one.
It is interesting how every company in this sector of luxury cars (BMW, Audi, Mercedes) is being positive about their future and plans to do better than their competitors. We will find out with time whose forecasts were right. As we learnt from this class, the market is growing and demand for these luxury cars is increasing, so they will all most likely do better.
2013 really represented a boom in the luxury car market, I’m not sure what the exact reason was, possibly the continued emergence of China’s middle class. Audi recorded record global sales in 2013, so there is no reason to assume that they won’t continue to grow. However, car companies like BMW and Mercedes also experienced huge growth in 2013 that can be attributed to the boom in the luxury car market. I think Audi’s goals aren’t that far fetched and if they continue to have strong advertising campaigns and also continue to come out with great product as well as a diverse portfolio, such as their current variety of sedans, SUV’s, crossovers, coupes, and convertibles.