Audis January 2015 Global Sales Rise 10.3% on Surging North American and Chinese Demand - Stays Ahead of Mercedes-Benz

I cannot wait to see what happens when manufacturers no longer have a monopoly on the Chinese auto sales industry. With China allowing the direct importation of new cars NOT by the manufacturers, sales will destabilize.

so true, with Benz and Audi being so close now overall, and Benz outpacing them by a significant margin, things can get really tight this year

Smoke and mirrors: sales numbers and "headlines" from the entry level offering A3 - and lease "specials" of $199 for 24 mos.

Audi will also be putting even more heat on BMW this year. Should be a great year, but my bet is Audi surpasses BMW either this year or next to claim the title of world's best-selling premium brand driven by Audi's surging sales in the U.S. and China and many new models out this year and next including the all-new Q7 SUV and A4 Sedan.

These numbers just get more meaningless every month/year. Audi's growth is based on focusing on its lower-range models. BMW's sales are heavily weighted on the success of the 3/4 Series.
Honestly, probably the only German luxury brand with any bragging rights is Mercedes. They offer the most models at the higher price points. The S-Class is just absolutely dominating its segment and with the gorgeous coupe and Maybach variants, that domination will just continue. They've taken the C-Class upmarket and with the coupe and cabriolet versions (as well as estate) that will bolster sales. Mercedes' sales results shows a better distribution throughout the brand and is not heavily weighted either on one end of the price spectrum or on one or two individual models. And let's not forget the article published last year that stated that Mercedes was the luxury car owned by the wealthiest in China, despite the brand being significantly behind Audi and BMW in that country.

Audi is still more profitable than Mercedes-Benz despite relying on its lower-priced entry-level models such as the A3 to deliver a larger proportion of its total global sales.

That proves that costs play a huge factor in determining profitability. Although Mercedes-Benz may sell far more expensive cars such as the S-Class, S-Class Coupe and SL Roadster among other models than Audi, Audi still wins due to lower production costs.

Audi also shares cost/parts with parent Volkswagen...so the comparison is lost there

Come on, Nuttie. You and I both know that if you took VW out of the equation and Audi was left to be its own independent luxury brand, that margin would be much different.

Yes, your correct, cidflekken, but we can't just "take VW out of the equation." Perhaps Mercedes-Benz should look to create more partnerships to reduce its production costs.