Audi Of America Shows Its CEO The Door — What Is The Brand's BIGGEST Problem That's KILLING Its Sales?

I'm gonna go with Audi's same sausage different length design philosophy and their front wheel drive dominant architecture. I've owned 3 in the past and the build quality is among the best but these two things will ensure they stay behind Mercedes and BMW. They are still tier 1 though so they should focus on profitability.

While I agree that Audi style is getting stale, I don't know how much impact the head of Audi of America would be able to make on global styling, especially in less than 6 months. Nothing he could do in that time frame would have reached production yet. Something else must have been the cause of his departure.

I had a Q5, and yes it was a nice car. But in the past Audi used to try to keep their pricing slightly below BMW and MB, while working to be an equivalent product. In my opinion, they did that pretty well. But in the last 10-15 years they kept pricing closer, so that now they cost just as much as the other German brands. For the same price, they just aren't quite in the same league. I had high hopes for the E-Tron, and then they skimp on the range.

Not so much their same sausage different length, as most their rivals have a similar approach but less obvious.

The thing that has caught up with Audi is their same sausage DIFFERENT GENERATION approach, they try to feed you the same sausage that you were served 2 decades ago, and then you play WHERE’s WALDO? To spot the changes

While Mercedes sedans look similar to their classes, Benz takes risk between generations so I don’t have to be 5 feet away from the new car to tell it apart from its predecessor

Definitely...BMW makes it even harder to discern the new model.

This has been issue with AUDI & VW group. Not enough of distinction between generations.

Mercedes switches between generations with square and round designs motifs, while BMW has enough differentiation between generations

Good product poor marketing lately. Audi stood for quality, great interiors and Quattro. Everyone has four wheel drive now plus improved interiors and Audi has failed to renew, refresh and re-establish the brand's image in the eye of consumers. They need a new message and marketing program.

Since when has Audi stood for quality? Audi has been battling a negative reputation for years.

Audi is clueless

From their website: "Audi Care
$999
Convenient, pre-paid, factory-recommended, scheduled maintenance service and peace of mind, from the people who know Audi vehicles best. After your complimentary 10,000-mile or 12-month scheduled maintenance service, a single Audi Care package covers four subsequent scheduled maintenance services."

I have to pay a thousand dollars for service after 10K miles and if I don't the price must be astronomical.

Audi needs a 10/100 powertrain warranty, a 5/50 bumper to bumper warranty, and a 3/36 free maintenance provision.

The A4 "Prestige 45" is a $50K base with a damned 4 cylinder under the hood.

Not only does the Lexus ES look better, it's better built and more refined.

Audi should consolidate the A3/4 into one car and the A6/7/8 should be consolidated into a tweener with strict price control.

The A5 should be a coupe only and reimagined to play squarely within the Mustang GT/GT350 price span with advantageous pricing.

The Q8 is D-U-M-B #DUMB. It should have been an Audi "Escalade" i.e. a large upright SUV.

Then there is the styling malaise of Marc Lichte.

Lexus treats its customers far better than Audi. Customer relations with Audi was a NIGHTMARE when we had an Audi franchise in the group. Audi would blame the customer for its defects and we were left with the angry customer bad mouthing our store.

VWAG simply does not understand quality, value pricing, and customer service.

I bought a 2012 S5 because it was, in my opinion, one of the most gorgeous coupes ever and I loved its performance. My next goal was to step up to an S7.
Today, there's not a single model in the lineup that I would choose over another comparable rival. The brand has become Mia Farrow when it used to be Heidi Klum.

Audis are now superflous. They are VW's Acura. Most of their cars are uninspiring, and pretty much gussied up VW's. The Audi R8 is a crippleware Huracan, and it will be toast once the Mid-Engined Vette comes out. Even if the Vette is not the style queen, its going to be half the price with better performance and reliability. Tesla is another factor. Tesla is hurting Audi more than BMW(noticible, and their cars are starting to suck) and Mercedes(maybe the luxury premium that will come out better). Porsche is the true performance-luxury of the family, and will make better products for that market. I wouldnt be surprised if Audi could be gone in 10 years, if not less. There existence is getting less necessary.

I would disagree with the assumption that Audi isn't in the same league. There isn't a segment that Audi doesn't compete in except for the very large SUV arena. The brand has the performance models just like BMW and Merceds-Benz. The technology is as good and many would say better. The quality of interiors is regarded by many to be superior to BMW. The price, as you said, is now on part with BMW and in some cases higher.

This wasn't a design strategy move as the CEO of Audi of America isn't responsible for Audi's global design. This was a poor inventory management and sales issue. Mark Del Rosso didn't manage Audi of America's inventory as well as he should have.

I will say that Audi's problem is due to using the same design philosophy for three generations of vehicles. For example, the A4 and A6 look just like the previous generation A4 and A6 and just like the generation before that! It becomes a problem when customers can't tell a vehicle apart from the same vehicle from literally 10-15 years ago.

Firing the CEO of Audi of America will hopefully help get the sales and inventory issue solved in the U.S. but it won't solve the design stagnation problem. For that, Audi needs to fire Marc Lichte and replace him with someone that is going to come in and take a truly radical approach to Audi's exterior design.

Some will say if it ain't broke, don't fix it. The problem with Audi is it's sals are broken both in the U.S. and globally. Without a major exterior design rethink for the next generation of vehicles, Audi's survival might come into question.

Firing Marc Lichte is what should hav happened NOT those tasked with selling the ugly turds he creates.

"Step down Immediately" may have nothing to do with Audi's performance but rather something with his personal behavior. Six months is an unrealistic time frame to demonstrate a significant change.

Mark Del Rosso was so busy swimming in his pool of narcissism he forgot that the dealers are his customers. He Pushed: 4 Margin changes for dealer in 6 months, changing monthly sales requirement goals that are set annually, started 2019 with a stated sales goal of +10% in sales with the market retracting and had no plan how to boost the unit sales, meaningless marketing, no contact with the realities of the competition when planning programs for the lease & retail loans, questionable use of Audi marketing $$ for his wife's business, deflected responsibility for everything... overall not a good leader or a man that can be trusted with the livelihoods of all his dealers and their employees. That said, he was nice guy to some people when he was not looking in the mirror.

no one here is buying audis or owns them so its just the same old bullshit with no experience.