Audi Passes BMW in Sales to Take Lead in Luxury-Car Sales

[ACE]

Audi has been eyeing the top spot for years and the new A3 has finally made it happen for the first 2 months of this year. It's very close at the top now and I expect the lead will change hands as new models are released. This year is going to be more interesting than previous years but I still expect BMW to come out on top by December.

[Audi] will introduce 17 new or revamped models in 2014, including the TT sports car, in an effort to hold the lead. The rollouts are part of a plan to invest 22 billion euros ($30.4 billion) over five years to become No. 1 in annual luxury-car sales for the first time.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-...n-sales-to-take-lead-in-luxury-car-sales.html

 

[mini_cooper4]

[Audi] will introduce 17 new or revamped models in 2014
Pfhahahaha

 

[Merc1]

A few hundred units is nothing to cheer about.

M

 

[chonkoa]

It is premature say this is a harbinger of what the numbers will be this year, however the numbers last year were a bit telling. I had expressed on another thread that this could be possible in 2014 or 2015.
The signs are ominous to BMW's reign at the top.
It definitely going to be an interesting year..

 

[ACE]

A few hundred units is nothing to cheer about.

M

A few hundred ahead is better than tens of thousand behind which is where they were a few years ago.

 

[Merc1]

True, but it doesn't mean anything right now. It could go either way, it is far from decisive.


M

 

[EnI]

It's not the first time Audi surpassed BMW in sales in the first 3 months of the year. It has happened before. Check the sales reports from past years ...

Sure Audi will be strong this year. Ramping up the production in China - and therefore the sales as well.
A3 sedan will be quite a boost - already showing some contribution in total Audi sales. New Mk TT will contribute too. And A6/A7 LCI is on the horizon as well.

But I guess BMW 2er AT will also be a hit - at least in Europe, and 4er GC & X4 will also find quite some owners. High-volume sellers like X5 (new Mk) & X3 (LCI) are also there. And I guess 2er Coupe & Cabrio will also contribute some sales to the total BMW annual sales. New Mk X6 is coming late. So is the 2er Gran Tourer.

When Audi introduces its own minivan (A2, A3 (Super)Avant?) in the compact segment & the Q1 mini-SUV (not to mention a city car based on VW Up!) then I'm sure they'll surpass the BMW brand - since BMW brand won't enter the segments below sub-compact (Mini, A1) segment. They will go there with MINI (Rocketman) in the future. While MB has smart For4 there & possible smart mini-SUV (since Daimler said there would be no sub-GLA MB model).

Therefore - due to mini-city segment - Audi has the biggest potential: since BMW & MB won't go there with their own brands but with MINI & smart. While Audi will introduce Audi-badged models in this segment.

 

[mini_cooper4]

Yap, I'm pretty sure there's an Audi Golf Cart coming in the near future

 

[Mr Robert]

Make it a year, then we can talk.

 

[EnI]

Make it a year, then we can talk.

Exactly. Different carmakers introducing new / refreshed models at different times in the year ... also different number of models ... different type of models (regarding high vs low volume).

Partial results - especially only after first 2 months of the years - are just news feed ... just some news for the sake of it. Something to report about - although highly irrelevant. But media love "news" - especially sensation ones. Therefore Audi leading BMW for 400 vehicles after February or MB outpacing both Audi & BMW in monthly & YTD sales growth can be a "worthy" news today.

And as you said: let's talk about this in early January 2015, when sales reports for the whole 2014 are in. And then we can declare the winner.

Right now Audi is a YTD (Jan-Feb 2014) winner by 383 units over BMW, while BMW is a February monthly winner by 7,339 vehicles over Audi. While MB is a growth % winner - monthly % YTD. So, who's the winner?