Stepping up the notch for Audi
Competition runs aplenty in the automotive scene. There will always be new ways on how one car manufacturer will outdo the others. Setting the goals pursuing it is very important, just as what the executive vice president of Audi of America, Johan de Nysschen intends to do. He said that aside from achieving shoots for a long-term sales goal of 200,000 vehicles a year in the United States by 2015, he also wants to turn Audi into a sophisticated, edgy luxury brand for the U.S. market in the process.
As a unit of the German automaker Volkswagen AG, this will not be an easy task for Audi. But it seems that Audi of America is on the right track as U.S. sales raised to 90,116, about triple the number of 10 years ago.
But there will still be more work to be done, for Audi still lags behind the top-selling luxury brands. Lexus, BMW, Acura, Cadillac and Mercedes-Benz all topped 200,000 in sales last year.
“What we want to do is to actually turn the fact that we are smaller than say a Mercedes-Benz or BMW to our advantage,” de Nysschen said last week. “We want to be the exclusive among the exclusive brands — really sophisticated, really edgy.”
An automotive industry expert said that the reason on why Audi did not get the many U.S. customers is because the company’s late action to have a strong image and its late entry in the luxury SUV market.
I n fact, it was only last year when Audi offered its first SUV, the Q7. Also, the company’s compact luxury SUV, Q5, will be out in 2009.
Reshaping Audi in the American market comes as Audi of America and Volkswagen of America moves its headquarters from Auburn Hills to Herndon, Va. It is said that 400 jobs will move to Virginia by the end of next year, with 600 positions remaining in Auburn Hills.
“Audi already had been restructuring its U.S. business to be more competitive with the likes of BMW and Mercedes,” de Nysschen said. “Audi has placed a strong emphasis on upgrading its dealer network,” he said.
“Audi has a history of sharing a facility or even floor space with other brands, but the company is pushing for more exclusive Audi dealerships,” de Nysschen said.
Presently, Audi has 270 U.S. dealerships. By year’s end 110 are to sell Audi exclusively, doubling the figures five years before.
“We find that when the personnel in a dealership on the after-sales or the sales side is now focused and dedicated to the Audi brand they understand the product better, they understand the customer expectations better and the whole environment is somewhat more conducive to customer satisfaction,” de Nysschen said.