A4/S4/RS4 [Renders] MY2019 Audi A4 Facelift

[tristatez28lt1]

Autobild reports due to the slow sales of the A4, Audi is anticipating the facelift of the A4 to MY 2019 and making it more extensive as the design has been a negative factor in the decision making process.

I personally believe it'll be 2020 but I'll go with Autobild's timeline to be official.

 

[JLBM]

It's boring as hell.

 

[klier]

Yes, the A4 is a complete disaster, and sales reflect it, judging by @CrunchSlaughtered numbers in the sales thread for 2016:

Audi A4: 222,566
BMW 3er: 411,845
MB C class: 480,537

And production of the B9 A4 started in 2015, which means the car has had a full year like the BMW and MB.

The newest, 'hottest' car is selling very poorly. Good. The car is an utter disaster.

 

[Gianclaudio]

Not just boring, but quite ugly actually. 3er, C class, Giulia, XE are all waaaay nicer cars.

 

[hovabongZA]

Although looks are subjective we can call the A4 a lot of things, but ugly isn't one of them.

 

[klier]

Although looks are subjective we can call the A4 a lot of things, but ugly isn't one of them.

No, we have to call it VERY ugly.

Or, my favorite; fugly.

 

[SKY]

Jesus, those sales figures are utterly dreadful. But not surprissing. The current A4 is a turd from every angle, it simply looks like a cheaper car. The true drama comes from its own VAG cousins. It is granted the 3er, C-Class, Giulia and XF look so much better than the A4, but you really have a problem when the Passat and the A3 sedan also look way better. I would believe someone who is not a car fan believing the Passat is a segment above the A4.

The past gen A4 pre-FL is the best looking one so far. Every change Audi has made to its design since that model has been for the worse.

This FL does not look worse than the current model, but I doubt it manages to change things in terms of sales. The C-Class is selling really good, the XF and Giulia look fantastic and the new 3er looks like a beast based on the spy pics.

 

[martinbo]

Poor B9 A4 - so unfairly gets panned for its looks. It is an exceedingly conservative design, granted, but - to these eyes at least - it's also discreetly handsome and classy. Great detailing and sharp accents give the A4 a far better on-the-road persona than the punters here will have you believe. The A4's biggest issue is its own pricing coupled with a badge that still doesn't quite carry the cachet of its main German contemporaries. Pity all the more then that it also has, far and away, the best interior in its class.

 

[EnI]

Yes, the A4 is a complete disaster, and sales reflect it, judging by @CrunchSlaughtered numbers in the sales thread for 2016:

Audi A4: 222,566
BMW 3er: 411,845
MB C class: 480,537

Klier, your figures are completely off.
You're comparing apples to oranges there!

Your figures A4 sales are for the sedan only; while 3er figures include wagon & GT sales as well; C class figures include coupe & cabrio sales, beside the ones of sedan & wagon.


So ... Sales figures 2016:

Audi A4 (sedan, wagon, allroad): 357,997
Audi A5 (coupe, cabrio, sportback): 65,117
A4 + A5 Total: 423,114

BMW 3er (sedan, wagon, GT): 411,845
BMW 4er (coupe, cabrio, GC): 133,272
3er + 4er Total: 545,117

MB C-class (sedan, wagon): 425,000
MB C-class (coupe, cabrio): 65,200
C-class Total: 490,200

 

[klier]

Klier, your figures are completely off.

Thanks for the detailed breakdown! Guess it's not as poor as I originally thought. But still it's clearly not the sales hit it was supposed to be, being brand new yet dead last.

 

[EnI]

The problem with A4 is that VW Passat and Skoda Superb have become soooo good. Too good for A4's own good.

 

[Centurion]

The problem with A4 is that VW Passat and Skoda Superb have become soooo good. Too good for A4's own good.

I couldn't have said it better myself.

If you want to buy a VAG saloon but aren't badge or style conscious, the Passat and Superb offers 95% of what the A4 has but at a much lower cost. Sure, the A4 looks better but lacks newness or sex appeal to stand head and shoulders above its cousins.

Needless to say, I'm shocked by poorly the A4 is doing despite strong reviews.

 

[Monster]

Here in Australia, the A4 is outsold by the C class and the CLA with the 3 series at a distant 4th.

 

[EnI]

I couldn't have said it better myself.

If you want to buy a VAG saloon but aren't badge or style conscious, the Passat and Superb offers 95% of what the A4 has but at a much lower cost. Sure, the A4 looks better but lacks newness or sex appeal to stand head and shoulders above its cousins.

Needless to say, I'm shocked by poorly the A4 is doing despite strong reviews.

Audi A4 should have had much more radical styling to more successfully rival the in-house competitors like Passat & Superb. Passat's & Superb's styling is as sharp (if not even more!) than the one of A4's nowadays. You also can get much of the features that can be found in A4. While the engines & transmissions are mostly the same. It all comes down to the brand name. Talking about European markets ...

 

[Rolf]

Yes, the A4 is a complete disaster, and sales reflect it, judging by @CrunchSlaughtered numbers in the sales thread for 2016:

Audi A4: 222,566
.

those figures are for the saloon the Avant added about 120000 extra units but combined it is still much lower than the 3 series and C-class. It needs a serious facelift to lift its looks.

Edit: ok I see the true figures were highlighted above

 

[hovabongZA]

It's good to know that the aging 3 series platform was still the most successful in 2016!

 

[Centurion]

You also can get much of the features that can be found in A4.

Yup. Adaptive suspension, fancy LEDs, and even a digital cockpit is not exclusive to the A4. However, at this level of homogeny I'm not sure VAG care which car you buy, as long as they get your money, they win.

 

[EnI]

Yup. Adaptive suspension, fancy LEDs, and even a digital cockpit is not exclusive to the A4. However, at this level of homogeny I'm not sure VAG care which car you buy, as long as they get your money, they win.

Not so sure. Some products bring them more money, more profit. Cheaper, less profitable products cannibalizing sales of more expensive, more profitable products is no good for the company though. Sure, it's still better then buying a product of a rival company (eg. MB, BMW etc) but not ok. But such sort of in-house cannibalism (buyers favoring cheaper products over more expensive ones in the same size & type segment) hurts the profits, definitely.

 

[klier]

Here in Australia, the A4 is outsold by the C class and the CLA with the 3 series at a distant 4th.

And in Australia 5 people live, so nobody cares.

 

[Monster]

And in Australia 5 people live, so nobody cares.

It will be nice if the entire population in Australia only consist of my family members.