BMW outsells Audi and Mercedes to retain luxury sales crown

[OneDirty]

Somebody explain to me the need for this new FWD crap again? Survival of the brand wasn't it?

[Art__Vandelay]

Originally Posted by DeeKay

And hopefully the F30 LCI will look drop dead gorgeous when it's going to arrive later this year- as it's their bread and butter it need to be spot on.

Not needing a design overhaul at all, but at least LED tail and xenon as standard here in Denmark.

This is considered as a sure bet. Full LED tails are coming and since they are going to introduce LED headlights for the F30 xenon should be standard.

[X3paul]

Originally Posted by F**Enthusiast

Remember when Audi said they would be selling the most cars by 2015? Better luck next year.

They will. Audi does offer some great products as does bmw, but the only reason audi doesnt sell more than bmw is due to the NA market and the 80's law suits(this told to me by a munich bmw marketing member). Design is always a personal preference and of course rwd 50:50 Na eng etc discussions are reserved for the very few of us here. The mainstream customer buys into it with a brand image and I can tell you that in most of europe for 20 - 40 year olds audi is the brand of the moment. 60's and above mercedes. Imo of course

[DML]

Too many Bimmers on the road 2day... Getting Toyotish

[Loft23]

Stop reading into these numbers. The top three have been at it and BMW has been the most controversial. MB slammed them for padding their sales numbers. BMW apparently counts sold vehicles as any that leave the factory floor and are delivered to dealerships while others report based on customer registrations. So all the large dealers with unsold cars in their lot are counted by BMW as sales. It's semantics because technically some institution paid BMW for those cars and the titles are with the dealership. Playing dirty and consumers like it when their car is a best selling luxury vehicle.

[E90M3JETS]

Originally Posted by iamdabest1

There's no reason for anyone to want an audi over bmw , clearly if people buying that many audis , bmw should add x drive on all their m cars as an option as well ..

You may be the best, but not the smartest

[Eddien123]

The BMW CEO is at his desk like

[cs4444]

Originally Posted by X3paul

They will. Audi does offer some great products as does bmw, but the only reason audi doesnt sell more than bmw is due to the NA market and the 80's law suits(this told to me by a munich bmw marketing member). Design is always a personal preference and of course rwd 50:50 Na eng etc discussions are reserved for the very few of us here. The mainstream customer buys into it with a brand image and I can tell you that in most of europe for 20 - 40 year olds audi is the brand of the moment. 60's and above mercedes. Imo of course

Audis are more attainable to a younger crowed because they are more affordable/ more of their sales are skewed to the lower end of the market. Up until a few years ago you could get a FWD A8 in certain markets . Obviously the further down market you go it's easier to get volume. One of the main reasons Audi was able to shoot past Mercedes a few years ago was the introduction of the A1 which is based off the VW Polo, and cost less than a Mini. A1's which are sold in Europe and China account for 120k units a year. Where Mercedes and BMW do not have anything that far down market with their badges on it. BMW sells minis...but they are under the mini brand. Yes BMW will introduce the FWD 2 AT But it will be priced /equipped, comparable to a 1 series, Audi A3 and MB A class not a mini or A1. Mercedes sales are skewed toward the higher end with the S class leading its respective segment, while bmw is more evenly spread in the middle with the 3 and 5 series leading their global segments.

[JustChris]

Originally Posted by F**Enthusiast

Remember when Audi said they would be selling the most cars by 2015? Better luck next year.

Yes lol!

[aas5]

Originally Posted by cs4444

Audis are more attainable to a younger crowed because they are more affordable/ more of their sales are skewed to the lower end of the market. Up until a few years ago you could get a FWD A8 in certain markets . Obviously the further down market you go it's easier to get volume. One of the main reasons Audi was able to shoot past Mercedes a few years ago was the introduction of the A1 which is based off the VW Polo, and cost less than a Mini. A1's which are sold in Europe and China account for 120k units a year. Where Mercedes and BMW do not have anything that far down market with their badges on it. BMW sells minis...but they are under the mini brand. Yes BMW will introduce the FWD 2 AT But it will be priced /equipped, comparable to a 1 series, Audi A3 and MB A class not a mini or A1. Mercedes sales are skewed toward the higher end with the S class leading its respective segment, while bmw is more evenly spread in the middle with the 3 and 5 series leading their global segments.

here is my 2 cents:

- I don't think Audis are there yet in terms of driving dynamics. Agree many buy them for the design and brand cache but I am yet to be satisfied by how an Audi drives based on my experience with A3 and A7 (I will admit it has been limited but sufficient to prove it's no BMW). I actually want to like the brand and be able to look at Audi as a contender for my next lease but the drive is uninspiring. May be I should check out S5 or S7. Also, at least in the US, it actually costs more to lease a comparable Audi than a BMW at least this has been my experience.

- At least in the US, I don't think Audi is selling more of a lower cost casr, I see as many A4, 5, 6, 7, 8 + S variants here as the comparable BMW cars so I don't think that's the reason the younger crowd likes them. I think we just see a lot more interest in Audi in the last 5 years because they are coming out with much better designs vs. what they had before.

[angelc5]

Love it

[Twix]

I cross shopped Audi when I was in the market for a new car. The dealer was the worst experience ever. Probably thought I was a bum since I was wearing jeans and a t-shirt. The Q5 I drove had a much nicer interior than my BMW, but the drive was boring. Mainly, it was the dealer being unhelpful that steered me away from the brand.

When it comes to the A4 vs F30, the Audi is way ahead in terms of interior quality. If it was a daily to just get me to work and back, the A4 would probably make more sense. But if it were daily/fun car, the BMW still edges the Audi in terms of performance.

If I had to buy a new car today, it'd be an MB C400. Best all around. Definitely the coolest in terms of technology and driver comfort. Plus, MB is really kicking at BMW's heels when it comes to performance.

[Wild_Will]

Funny because I see a lot more Audi then anything else on the Autobahn lol.