Audi's hungry and BMW is the snack
U.S. luxury sales are going to be a priority
Audi makes no bones about it. No apologies. There's not even a hint of the natural German reserve that seems to pervade any public statement any Teutonic company proffers to the press.
It wants a piece of BMW's action.
Actually, the automaker wants a whole lot of the piece of pie BMW has carved out for itself. At least that's what Alex Mees, vice-president in charge of Audi of America, says.
And he should know how to grab it. Up until about six weeks ago, he worked for BMW, as did Bernd Piechestreider, now head honcho for all of Volkswagen, and a whole slew of other senior Audi execs who defected from the spinning propeller brand.
What seems to really get stuck in their craw is that, although Audi is on a more even footing elsewhere in the world, BMW outsells it three to one in North America. And since ours (or, more accurately, as the intended sales figures shown us reveal, the United States) is the largest luxury car market in the world, Audi's relative anemia is cause for significant corporate angst.
Besides justifying why it raids BMW's personnel so frequently, it would also explain why Audi has lately been playing tit-for-tat with its more established counterpart.
Lately, it seems that every announcement from Munich is quickly matched by another from Ingolstadt. The A8L takes direct aim at BMW's 7 Series. The recently released A6 definitely wants a piece of the 5 Series' action. And even if Audi's high-performance S cars aren't quite as loud and rambunctious, they still covet some of the halo effect that BMW's M brand lends its lesser cars.
The reason is simple. Mr. Mees sees BMW as Germany's most successful automaker and the generator of the luxury segment's highest profits. And that's because BMW is so successful in North America.
So, according to Mr. Mees, the good old U.S. of A. is going to become a priority for Audi. Or, as he most succinctly summed it up: "Five hundred years after Columbus, Audi has discovered America."
Like Les Hunt, the man in charge of North America before him, Mr. Mees sees the A6 as the foundation for success here, although it is something of an underachiever in the sales department when compared with the 5 Series. Mr. Mees acknowledges that success in the luxury segment "separates the boys from the men."
Again, he should know; although the 5 Series accounts for less than 25% of BMW's volume, it represents more than 40% of the company's profits. Obviously, a lot is riding on the recent redesign.
In fact, although the two cars look remarkably dissimilar, they do share one design similarity: Their stylists are willing to court controversy in order to boldly, if not popularly, move forward. BMW's Bangle Bump (named after Chris Bangle) is, of course, well known. Similarly, Audi's remake of its trademark front grille hasn't been met by universal praise.
What joins the two together, it seems, is a complete willingness to rock a boat dominated by a conservativeness firmly ensconced in other luxury marques.
That same desire to stand out has led to the company's somewhat quixotic "never follow" ad campaign. Featuring clever bits such as Rules for People Who Never Follow Rules and featuring such iconic rebels as David Bowie, Audi's customers, according to Mr. Mees, "never do the expected, never rest on their laurels and never think great is good enough." Or, as one of its 30-second TV spots says, "where would we be if nobody lead and everybody followed?"
So, now we have two German luxury car companies wanting to make waves. It's going to be interesting to see what the market decides -- whether they should sink or swim.
Source: National Post