Beemer B773ER
Tire Trailblazer
So what makes Audi the sales leader in Europe?
Purely pricing? Value-for-money compared to the other two? Brand image (especially Quattro due to popularity/need for AWD)? Design? Product portfolio/diversity?
April 2011: Global sales: Audi, BMW, MB
- Thread starter EnI
- Start date
So what makes Audi the sales leader in Europe?
Purely pricing? Value-for-money compared to the other two? Brand image (especially Quattro due to popularity/need for AWD)? Design? Product portfolio/diversity?
Wolfgang
Kraftwagen König
So what makes Audi the sales leader in Europe?
Purely pricing? Value-for-money compared to the other two? Brand image (especially Quattro due to popularity/need for AWD)? Design? Product portfolio/diversity?
Here's a study from Germany. Audi scores high on brand image and vehicle quality.
http://www.germancarforum.com/merce...-mercedes-benz-germany-s-strongest-brand.html
Merc1
Premium
Audi and BMW have sunk badly in the U.S. as Mercedes has risen. Different studies measure different things.
IMO the only one in the U.S. that really matters are the studies that measure more than 1 year out. The JDP Dependability study is the one IMO. It measures 3 years back, so for 2011 they're looking at 2008 model year cars, asking their original owners how the cars have held up over the last 3 years. Mercedes used to really suck on this one, but now they're up, over average. BMW and Audi have dropped like rocks since all their newer models hit the market, especially BMW. Audi has never been seen as a reliable, quality car in the U.S. only a nicely built one, i.e. the interior and what not. They just don't hold up like a Mercedes or even a BMW. European studies it seems measure different things.
Part of Audi's problem in the U.S. is that for so many years they were twinned with VW dealers and the service was horrible, still is a VW dealers from what I see.
Audi's are brilliant cars IMO, and I will own one at some point. They're catching on here in the U.S. now, but they need more dealers and more visibility. Wherever there is a MB/BMW/Lexus dealer row there needs to be an Audi dealer. Period.
Work on the quality, reliability, and dealer issues and Audi could very well one day match BMW and Mercedes in the U.S. It would be some sight to see so many Audis on the road like you see Mercedes and BMWs. I just hate what they did to the A8! Grrrrrr.
M
IMO the only one in the U.S. that really matters are the studies that measure more than 1 year out. The JDP Dependability study is the one IMO. It measures 3 years back, so for 2011 they're looking at 2008 model year cars, asking their original owners how the cars have held up over the last 3 years. Mercedes used to really suck on this one, but now they're up, over average. BMW and Audi have dropped like rocks since all their newer models hit the market, especially BMW. Audi has never been seen as a reliable, quality car in the U.S. only a nicely built one, i.e. the interior and what not. They just don't hold up like a Mercedes or even a BMW. European studies it seems measure different things.
Part of Audi's problem in the U.S. is that for so many years they were twinned with VW dealers and the service was horrible, still is a VW dealers from what I see.
Audi's are brilliant cars IMO, and I will own one at some point. They're catching on here in the U.S. now, but they need more dealers and more visibility. Wherever there is a MB/BMW/Lexus dealer row there needs to be an Audi dealer. Period.
Work on the quality, reliability, and dealer issues and Audi could very well one day match BMW and Mercedes in the U.S. It would be some sight to see so many Audis on the road like you see Mercedes and BMWs. I just hate what they did to the A8! Grrrrrr.
M
Wolfgang
Kraftwagen König
Benz leading the trio in quality, where it belongs. Once the last of the "Schremmp" cars are phased out, it'll continue to climb. I mentioned in another Thread that the W212 is seeming to be far ahead of the F10 in terms of initial quality, and these J.D Power Reports certainly reflect that.
Beemer B773ER
Tire Trailblazer
Check out Lexus and Toyota in those rankings!
BMW in the dumps... yikes!
BMW in the dumps... yikes!
EnI
Piston Pioneer
What those JD Powers surveys actually measure?
Dependability, reliability, satisfaction etc - what exactly is included here? Subjective c**p, or objective statistics? Or both? I hope it's not like "I don't like the shifter design ... 0 points!" ... or "I expected rear camera to be HD, while this one takes crappy video .... 0 points!"
Why am I asking this? Because German ADAC, and also other Euro studies on reliability positive trend for BMW vehicles. While in US market the BMW trend is negative. How come?
It's something wrong here.
So, please enlighten me what do all these JD surveys measure.
It's hard to believe that in 2007, when they asked owners about their 2004 cars, BMW scored better than in 2011 when 2008 cars were in question. All the glitches on E65, E60 etc We all know them. Nobody will convince me 2004 BMWs were more reliably after 3 years then 2008 BMWs are. No way! As said the ADAC statistics show different results. How come? The only possible answer is: problems with the N54 engine (in *35i models). Very rare in Europe, while very much popular in USA. And BMW scores lowest points in Powertrain dependability. Or the discrepancy between expected quality & delivered quality: eg. when expecting too much, even one little glitch seems like a huge problem.
Dependability, reliability, satisfaction etc - what exactly is included here? Subjective c**p, or objective statistics? Or both? I hope it's not like "I don't like the shifter design ... 0 points!" ... or "I expected rear camera to be HD, while this one takes crappy video .... 0 points!"
Why am I asking this? Because German ADAC, and also other Euro studies on reliability positive trend for BMW vehicles. While in US market the BMW trend is negative. How come?
It's something wrong here.
So, please enlighten me what do all these JD surveys measure.
It's hard to believe that in 2007, when they asked owners about their 2004 cars, BMW scored better than in 2011 when 2008 cars were in question. All the glitches on E65, E60 etc We all know them. Nobody will convince me 2004 BMWs were more reliably after 3 years then 2008 BMWs are. No way! As said the ADAC statistics show different results. How come? The only possible answer is: problems with the N54 engine (in *35i models). Very rare in Europe, while very much popular in USA. And BMW scores lowest points in Powertrain dependability. Or the discrepancy between expected quality & delivered quality: eg. when expecting too much, even one little glitch seems like a huge problem.
Wolfgang
Kraftwagen König
Mercedes-Benz just posted an update for you.
More than 500,000 E-Class models on the road
Stuttgart, May 31, 2011
Dr. Joachim Schmidt:
- “The E-Class is and will remain a key pillar of growth for Mercedes-Benz. We offer our customers an unparalleled range of products in this segment, encompassing a sedan, an estate, a coupe, and a convertible.”
- “At the same time, the E-Class is setting benchmarks not only for market success but also with regard to safety, profitability, and efficiency. Thanks to new engines, the new E-Class’ fuel consumption has been reduced by up to 20 percent. The automatic transmission version of the E 220 CDI BlueEFFICIENCY, for example, consumes only 4.9 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers in the NEDC and emits 129 grams of CO2 per kilometer.”
Stuttgart – The E-Class continues to stay on the road to success. Dr. Joachim Schmidt, Executive Vice President Sales & Marketing, Mercedes-Benz Cars: “Until today we have delivered more than 500,000 vehicles of the E-Class family to customers, and the E-Class is and will remain a key pillar of growth for Mercedes-Benz. We offer our customers an unparalleled range of products in this segment, encompassing a sedan, an estate, a coupe, and a convertible. At the same time, the E-Class is setting benchmarks not only for market success but also with regard to safety, profitability, and efficiency. Thanks to new engines, the new E-Class’ fuel consumption has been reduced by up to 20 percent. The automatic transmission version of the E 220 CDI BlueEFFICIENCY, for example, consumes only 4.9 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers in the NEDC and emits 129 grams of CO2 per kilometer.”
Persistent market success
Around 376,000 sedans, 64,000 estates, and more than 110,000 coupes and convertibles have been sold to date. As a result, a total of about 550,000 customers have bought a vehicle of the E-Class family. The sedan was launched in March 2009, followed two months later by the coupe in May and by the estate in November. The E-Class family has been complete since the introduction of the convertible in March 2010.
Sales in the E-Class segment put on further at the beginning of the second quarter. Sales have increased by a total of 13 percent since January, to 107,278 units (63,517 sedans and 12,553 estates). Sales of the E-Class convertible are continuing to grow very dynamically, increasing more than fourfold (plus 229 percent) from the previous year. The E-Class convertible and the coupe thus defended their market leadership worldwide.
The E-Class sedan is the market leader in its comparative class in the U.S., which is also the vehicle’s largest market, accounting for around 20 percent of global sales. The second-largest market is China, followed by Germany. The largest market for the E-Class estate is Germany. The coupe and convertible models are most frequently bought by customers in the U.S., with Germany and the UK being other major markets for these vehicles.
The predecessor of the current E-Class was also successful worldwide, and a total of 1.6 million sedans and estates of the 211 series were delivered to customers in the years after the vehicle was introduced on the market in 2002.
A benchmark for efficiency, safety, and economy
More than ever before, new gasoline engines and an optimized powertrain have made the Mercedes-Benz E-Class the benchmark for efficiency in its segment in 2011. All of the car’s gasoline and diesel engines are now equipped with direct injection. Other features that help to reduce fuel consumption by up to 20 percent include the standard-fitted ECO start-stop function and the optimized 7G-TRONIC PLUS seven-speed automatic transmission, which is now also available for the four-cylinder engine variants. The automatic transmission versions of the E 220 CDI BlueEFFICIENCY (125 kW/170 hp) and E 250 CDI BlueEFFICIENCY (150 kW/204 hp) consume only 4.9 – 5.3 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers in the NEDC and emit 129 – 138 grams of CO2 per kilometer. This makes the E 250 CDI BlueEFFICIENCY the most efficient upper-range diesel model for its output rating.
An internationally unparalleled combination of state-of-the-art assistance and protection systems make the E-Class the trendsetter in the field of safety. Around a dozen different assistance systems are available to customers, including the standard-fitted ATTENTION ASSIST system, which monitors more than 70 parameters to determine a driver’s level of concentration, enabling it to warn the motorist in time if he or she is suffering from fatigue. Just as unique is the optional Adaptive High-Beam Assist.
The E-Class also scores well among customers when it comes to value: It was declared the “2011 Value Champion” as a result of an assessment carried out by Auto Bild magazine and EurotaxSchwacke. According to the residual value forecasts of the market researchers, a four-year-old E-Class vehicle will have the lowest loss of value in the upper-range segment.
Daimler Global Media Site > Newsroom (Home)
Mr. Mercedes
Premium
Very cleverly worded article lol. It's obvious the sedan is not the global market leader at this point in time. But from my deductions it's not far behind the 5-er and given the new engines, transmissions, electronic updates etc. it could resume the #1 position.
I was speaking to both the Mercedes Benz dealer and BMW dealer here. BMW Australia are a little dissappointed with the the reaction to the new 5. It's not flying off the shelf like the previous model, and they are still quite a rare sight on the road. The Mercedes dealer confirmed this noting that the E was still market leader here and a lot of buyers they hadn't seen before are now actually comming in to see the E. Buyers that who would have previously walked straight to the 5.
So it seems like in some markets BMW's new conservatism isn't working so well, while in others it's doing great. Overall it manages to be market leader, but it will be interesting to see if it manages to retain this position. Conversely, the agressive front end of the E is bringing in a crowd who probably wouldn't have looked at the previous models and its nipping at the heals of the 5 despite being on the market longer.
Also...an interesting little bit of info from the BMW salesman himself! On some models the 'wood' in the 5 is actually NOT wood. *Gasp* lol
I was speaking to both the Mercedes Benz dealer and BMW dealer here. BMW Australia are a little dissappointed with the the reaction to the new 5. It's not flying off the shelf like the previous model, and they are still quite a rare sight on the road. The Mercedes dealer confirmed this noting that the E was still market leader here and a lot of buyers they hadn't seen before are now actually comming in to see the E. Buyers that who would have previously walked straight to the 5.
So it seems like in some markets BMW's new conservatism isn't working so well, while in others it's doing great. Overall it manages to be market leader, but it will be interesting to see if it manages to retain this position. Conversely, the agressive front end of the E is bringing in a crowd who probably wouldn't have looked at the previous models and its nipping at the heals of the 5 despite being on the market longer.
Also...an interesting little bit of info from the BMW salesman himself! On some models the 'wood' in the 5 is actually NOT wood. *Gasp* lol
Very cleverly worded article lol. It's obvious the sedan is not the global market leader at this point in time. But from my deductions it's not far behind the 5-er and given the new engines, transmissions, electronic updates etc. it could resume the #1 position.
I was speaking to both the Mercedes Benz dealer and BMW dealer here. BMW Australia are a little dissappointed with the the reaction to the new 5. It's not flying off the shelf like the previous model, and they are still quite a rare sight on the road. The Mercedes dealer confirmed this noting that the E was still market leader here and a lot of buyers they hadn't seen before are now actually comming in to see the E. Buyers that who would have previously walked straight to the 5.
So it seems like in some markets BMW's new conservatism isn't working so well, while in others it's doing great. Overall it manages to be market leader, but it will be interesting to see if it manages to retain this position. Conversely, the agressive front end of the E is bringing in a crowd who probably wouldn't have looked at the previous models and its nipping at the heals of the 5 despite being on the market longer.
Also...an interesting little bit of info from the BMW salesman himself! On some models the 'wood' in the 5 is actually NOT wood. *Gasp* lol
Yeah, the E holding off the 5 so well globally, is a testament to it, as the 5 is a year newer, so should be leading in sales, and the 5 is traditionally the Sales leader in modern times. However, the E Sedan "beating" the 5 Sedan in the U.S in terms of sales is very interesting and surprising to me.
I've heard that "BMW uses fake wood" thing as well from an M-B Salesman, I wonder if it's true?
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