Audi Announces Sales Up 15.4% in October

No surprise, I personally tallied (2), plus one more next year (Q7 or Q5).

When its time to replace my A6 it will be hard to chose between the S4, A6, S6, S5 or even the TT-S.

Audi, keep rolling them off the line!

Well done Audi!

I just cant wait till GermanNut shows up and explains how Audi will surpass BMW and MB soon.... *rolls eyes*

LOL, no, that's now 2015. THAT's when they will be #1.

I'm so sick of his rants... I don't care if Audi never becomes the best-selling premium brand; I'll love their products all the same.

lol ... good job for Audi. There is no chance to surpass BMW.

I'll admit it. In the US, Audi got a long way to go if they want to actually compete with sales numbers.
They got to improve their customer service @ dealers. Most dealers suck. Period.

AOA needs to step up as well. They always seem to say "the dealers are independent..blah blah blah"
SO what? Dealers are representing Audi ad Audi of America is doing nothing if dealers are doing something wrong....

George Bush hates Audi of America

Seriously, though, consider China. Within the next few decades, the Chinese car market will go through the roof--it has unbelievable potential. And, conveniently, Audi is the best-selling luxury brand there.

S4cabriofoxone :

Totally agree!
BMW has long way to go to compete the sales number in china, to Audi.
(i m Chinese...and we have two Audis in my family)

Well I would agree with the dealer comments. I had an A4 and the dealer was complete garbage.

The showroom looked 20 years old, the sales staff was not very knowledgeable and it was an overall low quality experience from a premium brand.

If Audi had even 1/3 more sales in the U.S. as they do now, they would be a huge force to be reckoned with.

Their cars are absolutely incredible with the R8, RS4, RS5, RS6, A8 etc...but the vehicle ownership experience is more than just a car, it is how you are treated at dealers, the knowledge the dealer should have of their products, the luxury feel of the showroom etc....

Yeah.. the only reason that I'll be not getting another Audi is becuase of my dealer. All my local Audi dealers are cocky bastards who treats you like @#$$. Even the MB sales people were nicer than the Audi's.

The sales department was a complete crap for the first year but it's getting better. But, it's not as pleasing as BMW'S or Lexu's. I really want to stay in Audi but as long as the dealers don't change their attitude, I'm going to somewhere else..Hopefully M3 or C63AMG :p

I wanted to say "service department" instead of sales...stupid me

I agree with the dealers, my mother purchased an A6 from a dealer in CT (Audi of Wallingford) and the showroom hasn't been touched since the 1950's complete with green asbestous floor tiles, fake 1960's wood panneling, and a yellowed drop ceiling. The service department is a seperate building with no where to sit and wait except to stand in a small greasy front desk area. The signs from the Daewoo and Suzuki dealers that previously occupied the space are still attached to the buildings.

For a place that sells Porsches and Auid's costing over $100,000 you would expect a little better..where is the oversight of Audi??

this is new i have had no bmw or mb drivers snicker at me while i drive the Audi.

Thank you for all for your comments.

Audi is well aware of the dealership situation and is working hard to correct the problems and upgrade facilities. The most immmediate change has been to eliminate the dual franchises. Before long, you will not see Porsche-Audi or VW-Audi dealers dualed together anymore. Furthermore, a timeline has been established for dealers to upgrade the facilities if they haven't already done so. There are several "hanger" style floorplans for a dealer to choose from and it is a requirement in order to keep the franchise. If a dealer does not agree to the timetable or have the financial resources available, Audi will assist in locating a buyer for the franchise who will make the commitment.

Sales CSI and service SSI goals have also been established with built in incentives to help motivate dealers to reach these goals. Audi spends millions to train dealer sales and service staff all over the country in order to provide an educational buying and service experience, however employee retention at the dealer level continues to be an issue. Audi is working on sales and service incentives to help stabilize the work force and keep trained personel at each facility.

Audi realizes this is a process that takes place over a period of time. It will not happen over night! Franchise laws are different in each state and sometimes must be argued in court, further delaying the process.

Audi is committed to making this happen nation-wide and appreciates the patience of America while it goes through these growing pains.

I'll assume by your comments that you are an Audi rep.

If so, I'll have to say that Audi has addressed the issues I've had with Audi cars since my first A6 in 2000.

Dealer service has improved considerably in the 8 years of ownership.

Reliability has also increased relative other makes in the segment and overall.

Safety was not a concern but I see that Audi has made great strides in improving. My family thanks you.

Styling (never was an issue).

Oversteering due to nose heavy design. Addressed in new designs (S5). Can't wait to get my hands on one of these new models.

Quattro AWD. When it comes down to deciding which car to take skiing to VT, I tried the FX once but thanks but no thanks, since then I always pack the A6 for bad weather. However, I see many claims for superior AWD than Audi's and that (I admit) bother's me. A premium brand such as Audi should not sit on its quattro laurels or wait for its competition to threaten it before reacting. Perhaps, Audi has been working behind the lines on new technology, but it should be clearly ahead of others by now. The new vectoring quattro system has good promise but it seems (I have not seen comparisons) to only catch up to other newer systems. This is a key area Audi needs to work on even harder (on top of its recent excellent efforts in marketing, design and motor sports).

wooaaa, very funny Mr. amazinbimmer...
you might have been living under a rock for a while.
The A5 and the new A4 address that issue, as far as the FWD, when BMW outsells Audi in Europe than we will talk. For most europeans countries, in bad weather a good FWD will always be better than a RWD. RWD is also so easy to make, a dynamicaly sporty FWD is much more difficult to engineer. And where is the front multi link suspension on your BMW, oh sorry you are stuck with the front struts mcpherson.
And how come our nose heavy front wheel drive A4 convertible outbrakes, out slalom and out grip your ultimate driving BMW 3 series, brand new platform, convertible hard top??? (caranddriver july 07)
How come an A4 2.0L 4 cylinder quattro outperform a 3 series on the slalom, pulling almost 70mph on the 700 feet slalom. (roadandtrack)
I could keep going...but I am sure you get the point.
My Audi is not perfect, your BMW is not perfect, because nothing is in this world. A lot come from personnal preferences, car magazines, even when providing numbers, do not account for the whole truth neither, but can be seen as a indicator.
So before you start bashing brand A or brand B, use commensense, knowledge and reflexion.
If you are bashing for the sake of bashing, then I am sorry for you, and if you are a BMW owner, I hope that you don't think you are representing the brand or the majority of owners, because I am sure they more educated than you are.

1 evel audi we can tackle all of your comparisons if you would like to ... I congratulated audi for doing well, but in the US they are not doing that well. 15.4% increase is nice, but they are still only selling 7600 units a month, even though they have 30+ models that they offer. BMW on the other hand is selling 3x that amount with 5 more models ... I could get into comparisons with all the models and more often than not BMW comes on top by a wide margin.

the same A4 2.0 you are referring to has outperformed the Audi RS4. are you saying that it is a better car? In that same article what was the acceleration and braking differences from the Audi 2.0 in comparison. not in the same planet as the BMW. Heck a month later the 335i sedan lapped a race track faster than the RS4. before you start quoting info, make sure you have more than one source in mind. BMW sets the standard in performance sedans. Audi has the best quattro system on the planet. Now, if Audi would build a car based on a RWD setup, they would be that much better off. Their new platform B5 is much better and getting closer. I am surprised that they didnt push the wheels out more toward the edge of the car to improve handling and body roll better. I am glad to see that the wheels have been centered in front of the engine vs behind the engine.

"In that same article what was the acceleration and braking differences from the Audi 2.0 in comparison. not in the same planet as the BMW."

I hope you're not referring to the Road & Track AWD comparison, because out of six or seven sedans, it was the second-quickest--only behind the second-place 250hp Subaru Legacy GT. The A4 was in first, of course.

"Now, if Audi would build a car based on a RWD setup, they would be that much better off."

I've been wondering about that. I just think it would change the brand so much and alienate many of their core customers. In fact, the high-ups have considered a switch to RWD but came to the same conclusion that I did. If it ain't broke, don't fix it--and they have been enjoying growth in the Americas, Europe, Africa and Asia.

BTW, the new A4 is on the B8 platform. B5 was introduced in 1994... lol. Then came the B6 (2001), and the B7 (2005.5--not a full new platform, but a re-skin). Now the B8.

ALSO, yes, a 15% increase is nice. And at this rate, American sales shouldn't be much of a problem within the next few years.

If they did sell as well as BMW/Merc in the US, they would quite possibly be the #1 premium brand. I don't really feel that it's necessary for them to attain this, but it's just interesting. I can only wonder how they screwed up our market SO much, if their cars are so impressive nowadays. They are improving on literally every front. Performance, technology, luxury, style, handling, reliability, fuel economy. I guess the rest of the world gets it, but we don't.

I'm looking forward to the new A4.

Yes the FWD nose heaviness is an isue amazinBimmer, but they are improving that. Look at the reviews of the new A4 and A5.

The balance and handling is vastly improved.

Look at the R8, it has tendency to OVERSTEER!!

Audi realizes this but weight is necessary due to Quattro.

My belief is Audi will just keep pushing the engine farther back in each model update B8, B9 etc... until they eventually end up with a BMW type layout.

Yes an Audi has outperformed a BMW.

It's called the R8. It does 0-60 in 3.9 seconds. It's handling, balance, poise and abilities are excellent and the car has taken down almost all Porsche 911 variatns including the 911 Carerra 4, Carerra 4S, and Turbo in 9 comparison tests

It is not cheaper than a BMW either. It costs more than $10K above the M6 cabriolet's base price

Same goes for all Audi RS models including the RS4, RS6 and soon to be RS5. They cost MORE than their BMW M counterparts. They are more exclusive being that they are made in limited numbers

Compromise on technology? Quattro is not a compromise....neither is a $7K Bang & Olufsen sound system

Get your facts straight before you post junk amazinBimmer.

You can hate on Audi now, but even you, amazinBimmer have confessed that Audi is improving their handling, balance and ride by leaps and bounds with every new model like the B8 A4 that we have seen

It is only a matter of, lets say 20 years before Audi achieves the handling, balance and poise that make BMWs great driver cars.

Uh, no, that's quite an understatement. At this rate of progression, their entire model line will have top-notch dynamics by the next product cycle.

I would be interested in learning, in engineering terms how strictly RWD is better than an AWD layout. Is this always the case or are there times when AWD is better in your opinion? Many of the best high performance cars in the world utilize AWD with much success. In road cars and race cars alike I believe Audi has proven the technology many times over.

Have you ever driven a 911 Turbo, Bugatti Veyron, Lamborghini Gallardo, Bentley Continental, Audi R8, Audi RS6, Audi RS4?

It is a common belief in the engineering community that if you plan to incorporate something into your design, you should engineer the rest of the product with that feature in mind. Even BMW does this with X-drive. It's no longer an after thought added onto a RWD platform. It's engineered in from the very beginning on the products that offer it. So in a sense, most BMW's are now AWD platforms. If you only purchase the RWD version, so be it.

He just doesn't understand that some people like Audis. Let him be engulfed by his ignorance; it's a lost cause.

You ever wondered why AWD is banned from racing?
Just look up what Audi did to BMW and Mercedes in the nineties major touringcar championships with their crappy FWD layout.

BMW and Mercedes both went lobbying to make Audi's heavier because they kept winning everything.

"AWD is agreat comcept when the UNDERLYING architecture is RWD, as in porsche."

Please explain what's wrong with Audi's setup, then, if the RS4 and R8 are both such excellent handlers?

"Ask why the last 2 CEOs have gotten fired from VW, it is because they wanted to change the layotu and Piech wouldnt have any of it.. too expensive and no leverage off crappy VW, while acknowledgin they (RWD) were vastly superior."

No... it's because they would lose about 6,000% of their sales if they switched to RWD. AUDI switching to RWD is conceivable, but VW??? Even BMW-owned MINI makes FWD cars. It's what works for mass production.

In Audi's case, I think they should drop the FWD option entirely and make their cars (or at least US market ones) exclusively quattro.

But I still have to wonder. What makes you hate them so much? Why are you compelled to bash them with "facts" in any Audi article you can--and why do you go to these articles in the first place? You see their sales are up 15%, and you bash them. LOL. Obviously, they're doing something right.

Dude, I wouldn't walk through a door engineered by you! Just because you are some sort of engineering undergrad student, you think you know everything? Go drink some beer, bang a coed and chill out! There are so many holes in your beliefs and opinions I don't even know where to begin. In fact, it's not worth the time and effort it would take to educate you.

amazinBimmer, I am a BMW F1 fan & and Audi fan. A lot of those companies are making a fool of themselves in F1 (cough, Toyota). Hopefully BMW can make the next step next season but it's really the Ferrari Mercedes show. They better try to improve F1 were the races are won on the track, not in the pits or in courts. If Hamilton actually wins his case I'll give up F1. I mean I watched some ALMS racing and I couldn't believe it, PASSING!!! Porsche is racing there also and they seem to be doing OK

amazinBimmer, I just submitted an article that shows Audi owners have a higher average household income than BMW owners courtesy of Forbes.