Audi gaining momentum on competitors?

Audi hails Australian sales record

German car producer Audi has posted a record sales result for the first half of 2005.

The company was now aiming to double sales in Australia within five years, officials said.

Audi retailed 2,389 vehicles to the end of June, a 35 per cent improvement compared to the same period last year, according to official industry figures.

It also posted a 10 per cent increases in sales of parts and accessories.

The company's strong growth was indicative of increased awareness of the Audi brand as well as a steady influx of new models, managing director Joerg Hofmann said.

"We have invested considerably in the Audi brand in Australia throughout the first half of 2005," Mr Hofmann said.

"The Australian prestige and luxury market is quite static at the moment, but there are a handful of brands who, like Audi, are showing strong growth.

"This is driven as much by excellent product as by increasing brand awareness."

Mr Hofmann said the target to double sales within five years meant there was pressure on the company to perform.

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Advertisement"We will exceed our sales target for 2005 and continue our strategy of steady growth, year-on-year, to reach our goal," he said.

Rival luxury brand Jaguar has also welcomed its first half result which arrested the decline in sales the company endured last year.

The company said it had also defied a five per cent downturn in total luxury car sales in Australia so far this year.

Jaguar posted sales of 487 units for the six months to the end of June, almost identical to the 490 vehicles sold over the same period last year.

"Volumes are where we planned them to be when we crafted our business strategy last year," general manager David Blackhall said.

"Although we rarely comment on specific targets, the June result represents the 12th consecutive month during which the Jaguar Australia team has delivered on its business plan targets, an outcome that is unique in my experience in the car business."

"Given that all of the growth in the Australian market is in small and medium cars and sports utility vehicles, we have a realistic idea of what success will look like for us and that is delivering consistent volumes month after month so that we end this year at least line-ball with 2004.

"We have challenged ourselves in a very realistic way to maintain a stable volume and margin platform for our business and the business of our dealer partners."

Source: The age

MercBasher - 7/8/2005 11:14:57 AM

+1 Boost

Dudes this an Australian article - in the US Audi sales are going nowhere - for example the A6's sales are being squeezed by the Japanese (RL, M35/45 and GS300/430). So put a shrimp on the barbie and celebrate down under - the story is much different in the world's biggest auto market.

MercBasher - 7/8/2005 1:49:41 PM

+1 Boost

Here are the six month figures for Audi sales in the US (January to June)
In 2005: 37,701
In 2004: 37,970
That's a slight decline for anyone who is mathematically challenged.

Interesting that it takes Lexus or BMW about six weeks in the US to sell what Audi requires six months for.

The differences between Europe and US luxury markets include:
* Many models in Europe are "stripped down", with few electronic options - this means reliability issues are easier to manage than in the US
* The Japanese LUXURY brands are not well established and, if present, have a much smaller range of products than in the US - so arguably there is much less competition in the big European markets for luxury vehicles
* Diesels engines are a huge part of the market, and these would probably not sell well in the US
* To succeed in Europe you typically have to offer half a dozen engine choices per model because of different countries have tax peculiarities - something that is not cost effective in the US because most of these engine choices are low powered with an emphasis on fuel economy. Audi and VW are good at the engine proliferation though.
* Audi is undoubtedly benefitting in Europe from the weaknesses of Mercedes (reliability) and BMW (weird styling).

In the US it is the Japanese who appear to be benefitting most as the luxury and near luxury market segments expand. Of course Audi's lack of SUVs has led to much of its lackluster sales in recent months and years - and this should be rectified in the next couple of years.