Audi Says It Will Begin Reeling In BMW This Year

I completely agree and this doesn't surprise me. Audi has the cost advantages of being a member of the powerful Volkswagen Auto Group, a clearly defined growth strategy centered around expanding the "Q" lineup of SUVs and is already the market-leader in the important Chinese market.

With a huge $17 billion investment through 2018 targeting production facilities, model expansion and research and development, which is due to the cost savings and higher operating profit, Audi will claim the number one spot.

I agree, Audi will continue reeling in Bimmer, however Benz(11%) is currently outpacing growth at Bimmer(7%) and Audi(8%).

China Car Sales boomed but Bloomberg, Reuters, and numerous sources forecast a slow in growth and possible declines due to increased environmental protections, traffic congestion, and more cities in China limiting car purchases.

Shi Jianhua, a vice secretary general at the auto association, said in Beijing. “Demand for imported luxury vehicles will surely decline as the official frugality campaign spreads beyond the government and affect companies and individual consumers.”

2014 will be interesting to say the least

Didn't Audi say this last year too, and the year before, and the year before that?

The 24 Hours of Le Mans has helped Audi. International exposure of diesel and 4 wheel drive technology. BMW should not have left F1.

I dont get it, i walk into audi and tell them i want the rs5 and currently have the M3 and they say the reason they charge so much more to lease the rs5 in comparison to the M3 is because bmw's are a dime a dozen.
Audi dealers ( biener audi, lynbrook in new york) are absolute snobs and DONT want to earn my business.
they want to charge M3 money for an S5. their residuals are sh't and you cant ever get a deal on a powerful audi.
mercedes e350's lease for like 500 - until audi can give competitive lease deals, they will NOT beat bmw or mercedes.
( btw, im not hating on audi, i think they have great cars- just crap deals_

Audi doesn't want to beat BMW and Mercedes-Benz at the discounting game. Another words Audi doesn't want your business if you ask for a rock-bottom price. Audi's strategy all along has been to build its brand image and sales growth through selling a quality vehicle and getting the most money for that single vehicle even if it means selling fewer vehicles overall.

That's one of the reasons (the other being Audi's cost savings due to being a part of Volkswagen Auto Group) why Audi has consistently achieved a higher operating margin than both BMW and Mercedes-Benz over the past 5 years. Audi's higher operating margin has allowed it to invest $17 billion in new products, technology, manufacturing facilities, and research and development.