New Sheriff In Town? Audi's A3 Outsells Mercedes-Benz CLA In April

wow, you mean to tell me it took the A3 a FULL MONTH to move 2159 units in its launch while the CLA moved over 2,300 units in its first WEEK on sale and 4895 units in its first full Month.

I expect more from the A3, it actually fits full adults in the back and comes with more standard equipment.

Lets pick up the pace A3 before the CLA's inventory is replenished

Right. When the CLA supply is replenished it will easily outsell the A3.

I seriously doubt Mercedes would've sold 2,300 units of the CLA in its first week had the A3 also been available for sale at that time. The number would've probably been closer to 1000 with the remaining 1300 units going to the A3.

That is like the dumbest comment ever.

Typical Agent009 troll thread...seriously.

Mercedes CLA shortage is causing a 7 month wait time so people are choosing A3 rather than wait 7 months for a CLA.

LOL

That's all I can do with this article.

Great, so now GermanNut has an agent screenname.

The Mercedes is a POS the Audi is a much better car.....

And I'm still loving my Audi 6er craftsmanship and quality interior.

Personally, I prefer MB cars over Audi but I would not be surprised if over a "first two year period", the A3 outsells the CLA. It does have better driving/comfort balance (from various test drives) and Audi does cater to a younger demographic than MB, which is where these cars are aimed at.

Of course it's going to outsell the CLA. Or, I should say, it SHOULD always outsell the CLA. The CLA is a niche car, by intent. It's backseat is smaller than even the Audi TT and its driving dynamics aren't meant to be cushy. It's NOT a mainstream car. The A3 is. Why can't journalists understand that?

The Audi A3's extremely strong first sales month of April tells us many things:

First, Audi read the market correctly by creating a small and compact entry-level sedan with a roomier back seat and more standard equipment than the Mercedes-Benz CLA. The CLA, with its tight rear quarters and such things as leather, sunroof and xenon headlights as options swings the value proposition in Audi's favor. Mercedes-Benz thought its three-pointed star would be enough to get customers to purchase the CLA but its harsh ride, lack of rear-seat room and basic luxury options that are standard on the A3 Sedan clearly wasn't the answer.

Second, Mercedes-Benz's failure to accurately match its supply forecast with the market's demand is already having an impact. Surely some of the Mercedes-Benz CLA buyers went on over to their local Audi dealer and bought an A3 Sedan that they could pay for and drive off the lot right there instead of waiting 3-4 months for a custom-built Mercedes-Benz CLA.

Third, by the time the CLA's supply is increased to meet demand, Audi's A3 Sedan sales will be in full swing and more people will realize that the A3 Sedan is a better overall car.

Fourth, to sell over 2,100 A3's in the first month when the Mercedes-Benz CLA has already been on sale for 3-4 months is a fantastic achievement for Audi. It means Audi's highly-curated launch parties, advertising and marketing of the A3's uncompromised technology (MMI plus), safety-standards (IIHS Top-Safety Pick +) and value (more standard equipment than the Mercedes-Benz CLA) was a success.

Audi's global sales numbers for April should be through the roof considering the A3 Sedan is also on sale in it's other main market of China - by far Audi's largest market and where it is the number one selling premium brand well ahead of BMW and Mercedes-Benz.

Really? You consider 2100 the first month such a "fantastic achievement" when Mercedes sold almost 5000 CLAs its first month, with its compromised back seat, horrible suspension and terrible interior quality? (note my sarcasm).

2,100 A3s sold in the first month is a fantastic achievement for Audi considering the Mercedes-Benz CLA has been on sale for 3-4 months already. The CLA might have sold 5,000 units its first month, but there was no Audi A3 Sedan at that time so Mercedes-Benz had the segment all to itself.

You can bet the A3s sales numbers will rise substantially once the TDI clean-diesel version arrives along with the A3 Cabriolet and eventually the high-performance S3 Sedan all due later this year.

I should add the Audi A3 Sedan is a better car to drive than the Mercedes-Benz CLA, which is another huge reason why the A3 has been so successful. Its handling is better than the CLA's, its acceleration is faster and it feels sportier to drive. Performance is a huge deciding factor for young buyers looking for a luxury ride but with sporty driving dynamics. To top it off the ride is much more comfortable and not as harsh as the CLA's.

The jetta beats the entry level cla in head to head tests too. The Golf gti wins by an even larger margin.

Autoweek tore the cla a new arsehole. Never before have so many first time mercedes buyers been painfully convinced to never buy another one. The cla will effect on long term mercedes sales alright.

Are you referring to the article posted on 4/30/14? if so, you're quite the master of hyperbole. Yes, it was critical of the CLA, but saying it "tore the cla a new arsehole" is far from the truth.

Personally I think the CLA looks like it is trying to hard to be something special... The A3 looks terrible unless it has some exterior upgrades, but all things aside I would take the A3 over the CLA. My $.02

Couldn't have said it better. My wife has a MB GLK which I took in for an oil change yesterday. They had 1 CLA at the local dealership. So I decided to test drive the car (since it was in the afternoon and they didn't look busy). It was LOUD as h@ll; road like a lumber truck and the interior material looked CHEAP. I don't care which car you line up to buy, but when you add a few goodies and it starts pushing near $40K, then the interior on that MB, BMW, Audi, Lexus had better be top notch. There will probably be 1 CLA at $29,900 and most will sticker much higher then that. That $29K plus is nothing more then a marketing gimmick so they can say "Cost less then $30K".

The A3 is substance over the CLA's style.

couldn't agree more

The A3 is a lot nicer to drive than the CLA. I prefer Audi's tailored suit look to Mercedes gaudy ghetto bling look.

I feel really bad for anyone who would waste $35k on a little P.O.S. CLA and not just by a C.P.O. C-class instead. Good luck looking like you've made it in your ugly duckling entry level luxury car. Hell I'd even take a Jetta GLI w/nav over a CLA. I mean they both have the same amount of plastic in the interior, but at least with the GLI you save a few thousand and have a funtional backseat.

Car & Driver June issue is out. And cover has comparison of Audi A3, BMW 228i and Mercedes CLA..."The Hunt for Europe's Best Sport-Lux Bargain"
Not surprisingly, the A3 takes it.

first auto week, now car and driver....tore the cla a new arsehole. haha

...and now Consumer Reports did too:

http://autospies.com/news/OUCH-Consumer-Reports-Says-The-Mercedes-Benz-CLA250-Is-A-Really-Nice-Civic-81219/