Why BMW should be afraid of Audi.

[Centurion]

I think that is just where Audi needs to position themselves. Not htat that is a bad place to be. If they are smart they will continue to present cars that are somewhat different from the others - just look att the R8 - is there really any car that it is easily compared to? I do not know. But it is wise to enter the supercar arena whitout any obvious head to head competitor.

Exactly. Audis position is not bad at all. Their cars offer a good balance between comfort and sport driving. As for the R8 it is in one of the most crowded segments of all. It is facing ugly looks from Porsche, Lamborghini, Ferrari, Corvette, BMW and Aston Martin.

 

[Deutsch]

That guy set himself up for a battle that can never be won. He' amidst a plethora of BMW fanboys, couldn't expect more or less. IMHO, I believe Audi does prove a threat to BMW, maybe not so much yet in the U.S. (changing before our very eyes, whether you choose to acknowledge it or not), but abroad most definitely. Audi's sales are growing at a fast paste while BMW is only growing slowly because the brand has had far more time to spend on the market selling cars. As was said and has been said many many times, competition is good for them and even more so all of us.

 

[EnI]

Also:

BMW are taking all their competitors very seriously. MB, Audi, Lexus, Infiniti, Acura, Maserati, Alfa Romeo, Porsche, Jaguar.

Mind that top-notch driving dynamics is BMW's core value - the essence of "Ultimate Driving Machine", a key factor of "Sheer Driving Pleasure". And BMW will defend this top position by all means, and with all possible resources. How? With better products! With more investments in development (new tech). With better efficiency. With better services. With better image campaigns.

Note: BMW still has one main advantage over Audi: great marketing. Complete marketing activities, not just promotion. Although Audi is having great promotion lately. But that only one part of marketing.

Regarding leading position: do not rule out MB too quickly!
Yet, just like MB Audi did tone down the intentions to become #1 premium car maker by year XXXX - now saying Audi will be a leader "not in sales, but in brand image, service quality, product quality". While BMW have an intention to strenghten their lead as #1 premium car maker, and to improve image, and quality of products & services.

Yes, Audi & Lexus put the fit& finish benchmark high, and BMW & MB had to follow.

Audi is a very healthy company. So is BMW. And so is Toyota / Lexus. And MB is doing better & better - and will do even better when / if they rid off Chrysler. And when such healthy companies compete te race is ruthless: benchmarks are set higher & higher, and the competition reacts very quickly. Very interesting race resulting in better products & services: great news for a customer.

So: strong & aggressive Audi means even stronger & more aggressive BMW.

 

[Deleted member 25]

Some Extracts are BS, but i have to say: BMW have to pay attention to all its competitors, not only Audi but also Mercedes (it's incredible how everyone seems to forget them when it comes to potential future N°1), Lexus, infiniti, jag...

 

[EnI]

Audi's sales are growing at a fast paste while BMW is only growing slowly because the brand has had far more time to spend on the market selling cars. As was said and has been said many many times, competition is good for them and even more so all of us.

Audi sales are growing due completely new products - especially Q7. Q7 alone is adding almost 10% to total annual Audi sales. And will grow further with new models introduced - eg A5 & Q5.

Remember BMW growth in the past years when new products (1er, X3, 6er) were introduced in 2003? In 2004 BMW sales growth was more than 10% (BMW brand only). And BMW will grow as well in the next year when new models will be introduced: 1er 3dr, 1er coupe, 1er cabrio, X6, F5, ...

In saturated markets the only way to achieve the sales growth is to introduce new models. Mk change of existing model also boosts sales. While on poorly developed markets (like eg. Russia, China, India) harder penetration boosts sales - with existing models.

So, the company which is currently introducing new models at stronger pace, and / or penetrating to the new markets faster & harder experiences higher sales growth. That's natural. In some periods that's BMW, in others it's Audi, sometimes MB.

Eg. Audi is selling 800k vehicles per year, and than adds a new vehicle with production of 70k+ units per year (= almost +10%). It's obvious the sales are higher in such case.

Same case with MB when introducing new models like B-class, CLS, GL, R-class.

My point: it's nothing unusual BMW sales are growing slowly right now since no new high-volume selling models are being introduced. Wait till 1er 3dr, 1er coupe, 1 cabrio, X6 & F5 are introduced - then also BMW sales growth will be higher again. Also: when Audi will stop introducing new high-volume models (A5 in 2007, Q5 in 2008, A1/2 in 2009) - so in 2010 / 11 Audi growth will also slow down - just BMW's did when the 1st phase of product portfolio expansion was over. And that until new expansion phase.

 

[Zafiro]

yes, as pointed out earlier, dont forget Mercedes, they are still alive and wont give up without a fight against Audi, bmw and lexus. Get off your high horses and pay attention to Mercedes.

 

[SDNR]

I think the fact Audi sees BMW as the benchmark, rather than Mercedes-Benz, is another important aspect. For so long. luxury manufacturers have revered, emulated, and copied Mercedes-Benz .......it can not be denied the star has lost a lot of its shine.

 

[cracker123]

Post taken from bimmerfest:

Why BMW should be afraid of Audi

Always cracks me up to read the biased, uninformed posts about Audi on this site.

As we all know, in the US, Audi is currently seen as the alternate German brand, taking a back seat to BMW. However, that is soon to change, and BMW needs to watch out. We know internationally, and in Germany Audi is often seen as a superior product to BMW.

Audi's new chassis of 40/60 RWD bias Quattro, longitudinal engine placement behind the rear wheels looks to give Audi's the handling characteristics of BMW with added Quattro superiority. The new A5 is the first of the many Audi's that will utilize this approach, and will also be utilized on the upcoming B8 A4, C7 A6, and next A8.

With BMW's PlaySchool like I-drive, Audi's MMI is leagues ahead in terms of technology and execution. The same applies to BMW interiors, truly a joke. They just scream cheap--get into the lowest of "VW derived" Audi, and interior fit, finish, materials, and execution are better than the most expensive of BMW's.

Most people driving around in their stripper 328i's have no knowledge of their cars except that it's a propellor on the hood.

Not sure if they even know that ?


Let me add to this.

My first car was a C240->330CI->C230->CLK320. Now i did not like the BMW too much, it just did not feel right. They were almost close to Mercedes in Engineering but not there. For me mercedes has always been the height of automobile engineering. Every one of their car has so much thought and design it is simply amazing. I think finally Audi is catching up. I am very impressed with the A5. I want to look at it in person.

 

[kovachian]

Audi's definitely on the right path but they still got a long ways to go imo. I'm still waiting for Audi to drop their stupid FrontTrak. Does anyone think that Mercedes and BMW would be where they are had they built wrong-wheel-drive cars? Seriously...

 

[RICHBOY]

Audi's definitely on the right path but they still got a long ways to go imo. I'm still waiting for Audi to drop their stupid FrontTrak. Does anyone think that Mercedes and BMW would be where they are had they built wrong-wheel-drive cars? Seriously...

What's FrontTrak, and wrong-wheel-drive?

 

[kovachian]

What's FrontTrak, and wrong-wheel-drive?

Synonyms for front wheel drive.

 

[RICHBOY]

Synonyms for front wheel drive.

O

 

[King-B]

That first post sounds ignorant to me....

1. BMW interiors are not cheap and souless. Plus, BMW makes far better seats and steering wheels than an Audi.

2. iDrive is just as complicated or easy as MMI. Maybe the older crowd should learn to except newer technology. How hard is it to navigate with one joystick anyway. Atleast you dont have to look down constantly to see what button to press like on the A6, A5, Q7...etc

3. What makes you think an Audi can handle better, when Mercedes cant even beat BMW.

4. Audi design is still lagging (speaking for the average person). Just look at the A4, A6, A8, Q7 compared to the competition. Yes, I know these are older models, but still......

 

[SDNR]

This thread is becomming a fanboy battleground.

 

[Yperion]

This thread is becomming a fanboy battleground.

As far as i can see the discussion is still very civilized.

 

[Deutsch]

Audi's definitely on the right path but they still got a long ways to go imo. I'm still waiting for Audi to drop their stupid FrontTrak. Does anyone think that Mercedes and BMW would be where they are had they built wrong-wheel-drive cars? Seriously...

A fwd platform does indeed have it's inherent limitations, but it doesn't mean that automakers can't find ways to overcome those inherent flaws. Take a look at the Mini Cooper and new TT to get an idea of what I'm talking about. Besides that, FWD aren't the only cars Audi produce, it's just another way for them to sell an inexpensive alternative to someone that may not need or want Quattro, and thus increase their market share and profit margins.

What's FrontTrak, and wrong-wheel-drive?

Frontrak is Audi's denotation for FWD.

 

[Zafiro]

FWD is good as long as the engine isnt too powerful. Too much horse's and torque and FWD is no good.

 

[Deutsch]

That's true JM. We'll see how the FWD A5 fares w/ the 3.2 V6.

Something interesting; I just read an interesting article @ TCC that talks about the A5 and Audi's upcoming product offensive. In it, it mentions that the A5's modular platform will be used on other VWAG products. If that's the case and it is not unique to Audi, I hope they use it for premium products only and use different architectures for lower end market VW products. Of course if the A5's platform works dynamically, then I could probably end up caring less about it's use elsewhere in the VWAG empire.

 

[Mr Robert]

That's true JM. We'll see how the FWD A5 fares w/ the 3.2 V6.

Something interesting; I just read an interesting article @ TCC that talks about the A5 and Audi's upcoming product offensive. In it, it mentions that the A5's modular platform will be used on other VWAG products. If that's the case and it is not unique to Audi, I hope they use it for premium products only and use different architectures for lower end market VW products. Of course if the A5's platform works dynamically, then I could probably end up caring less about it's use elsewhere in the VWAG empire.

The new layout presented with tha A/S5 will really boost driving dynamics for Audi products. The engine is placed above instead of in front of the front axle.

Development costs I think will force the whole VW group to use the same platform. If im not missunderstanding this Audi will use this platform for A4, A5, A6 and A8 in their upcoming iterations. Time will tell if it is to be used in other brands in the group. I think it will. At least i would like to see it in a Golf!

 

[Poverty]

IMO, Audi should offer RWD to attract old school consumers (like me).

If Porsche has their way that might become reality