Audi Will not Apologize to Bmw

Audi is not making an apology at BMW’s claim that the brand is not a luxury car opponent because Volkswagen’s premium vehicle division does not manufacture rear-wheel drive cars and that discounting has been the biggest factor of inflated Australian sales and market share.

Joerg Hofmann, the Managing Director of Audi, used the launching of the new S3 and TT Roadster last week in order to emphasize the fact Audi was easily the nation’s fastest-growing premium brand. He also took advantage of the launching to suggest that the maker of BMW oxygen sensor was already discounting its very newly redesigned volume-selling 3 Series.

This is the latest storm in the cold war between Mr. Hofmann and BMW’s new Australian chief Guenther Seemann, who, in an interview with GoAuto, refuted the claim that Audi is a premium car-maker. The interview took place after a gathering that announced upgrades across BMW’s entire passenger model range, including the 3 Series.

Mr. Hofmann said that every manufacturer is reacting to them in various ways. He added that they are confident and proud of what they are doing and that they are relaxed for they know they have a great future ahead of their brand. However, he claimed that there was never a time that they were arrogant. He boasted to the other car makers that there is a big difference between Audi and some other brands.

While referring to BMW’s 3 Series range last week, Mr. Hofmann said that the public wants discounts (open discounts). He added that if somebody puts a huge amount of dollars behind an almost brand-new volume model, a car, which was launched a year ago, is now already spurred by huge amounts of dollars.

Audi dealer profitability, according to him, had increased from 0.8 percent to 3.0 percent in the past three years. He also claimed that such figures are exceptionally high and are by far much higher than most of their rivals’ returns on sales numbers for a retail business in Australia.

He added that discounts for their vehicles are a big NO for them because they adhere to the fact that the customer can believe in and trust a brand.

Mr. Hofmann, from a strategy meeting at the Ingolstadt HQ of Audi AG, recently attempted to put the brakes on the boiling competition in Australia’s advantageous luxury car sector, which has not grown as fast as the overall new-car market blast in recent years. Three months ago, the Ingolstadt HQ of Audi AG increased its 2015 sales target from 1.4 to 1.5 million automobiles in an invitation to become the top-selling premium car brand all over the world.

He told GOAuto during the interview that he does not want to make a story and he does not actually care too much for what has been said. As a matter of fact, he said they were really glad with the top performance that their brand is exhibiting and they were boasting that they go ahead to another record year for Audi. He concluded that he is after for their brands performance and not for any competition.

Mr. Hofmann refused to comment on specific car companies but he said that what they communicate is based on fact and the fact is that, according to him, Audi is by far the fastest selling premium brand in Australia.

As of the first five months of this year, Audi has recorded an outstanding 41 per cent growth in sales and this figure is 10 times more than BMW’s 4.1 percent increase.