Audi aims to top 12,000 sales

AUDI Australia is planning to top the 12,000 sales mark in 2010 on the back of fresh product, the completion of an entirely revamped dealer network and improved economic conditions.

This should see a return to the million-unit new vehicle market in Australia, according to departing managing director Joerg Hofmann, speaking to the Australian media for the final time at the launch of the A5 Sportback earlier this month.

Heading back to Germany to oversee Audi’s retail network in what is still the company’s largest single market, Mr Hofmann is confident that the Australian operations is well placed for the next phase of volume growth.

His stated goal is to breach the 15,000 sales barrier by 2015, settling to around 17,000 units to put it on a level pegging in Australia with BMW and Mercedes-Benz.

Mr Hofmann leaves behind the legacy of 60 consecutive months of growth in Australia that has seen Audi’s annual sales numbers soar from around 3500 in 2004 to a record-breaking 11,310 units last year.

The 2009 figure is remarkable in a year in which the overall market declined by about 7.4 per cent.

Among the larger volume hopes for the company over the next year is the A5 Sportback.

From top: Audi A4 TDIe, Audi A5 Sportback, Audi A8.

Charged with adding at least 1000 sales a year when it is released on February 1, this four-seater five-door version of the A5 Coupe is expected to usher in new customers to the brand – particularly those who – according to Audi – seek sporty styling but have lifestyle needs that have outgrown the confines of more traditional coupes such as the BMW 3 Series and Mercedes-Benz CLK.

Those customers wanting more oomph from their pseudo coupe will be pleased to hear that the supercharged V6 version, the S5 Sportback, will be available in Australia from the third quarter of 2010.

Of course, folk seeking a seriously sporty Audi can always wait for the R8 Spyder that is also expected around the same time, to join the Coupe version that has been on sale in Australia since late 2007.

August or September will also host the arrival of the D4-Series A8 limousine, to battle the newer BMW 7 Series and Mercedes-Benz S-class.

Lobbing in before all these, however, will be the A4 2.0 TDIe due next month, boasting a slew of economy-focussed applications such as taller gearing and lean-burn running to achieve low fuel consumption and emissions.

Meanwhile, a similar strategy to the A5 Sportback is planned for the conceptually similar A7, to be unveiled globally towards the end of this year, before arriving to our shores sometime during 2011.

Based on the Audi Sportback concept car unveiled at last year’s North American International Auto Show in Detroit, this sleek sedan with a liftback is a blend of the next (C7 series) A6 and A8 mechanicals, and is out to lure buyers away from the upcoming second-generation Mercedes-Benz CLS and BMW 5 Series GT, as well as rival high-end luxury sports coupes.

The next A6 will also use D4 A8 architecture, and should surface internationally in the second quarter of 2011, so Australians will have to wait until about 2012 before being able to buy one.

At the other end of the spectrum, Audi’s first light car to be sold in Australia (the mainly Europe-only Audi 50 of the 1970s was based on the first-generation Volkswagen Polo but it never sold to expectations) will expose the four-ringed marque to a new customer base when it goes on sale early next year – almost a year after its global unveiling at March’s Geneva motor show.

A company insider says 21-to-35-year-olds are in Audi’s crosshairs, giving the brand unprecedented access to a cashed-up market hitherto dominated by BMW’s Mini as well as the Fiat 500.

More Audis are also waiting in the wings before 2015, including an all-important Mk3 A3 (to spawn a sedan as well as more coupe-like Sportback and hatch when it arrives in about 2012), baby SUV (Q3 – 2013), and next-generation Q7, and all are expected to add to the company’s sales fortunes in Australia.

To deal with the influx, Mr Hofmann has swept through the dealer network, implementing new facilities and training regimes in an effort to vastly improve customer service.

“Audi is now number one for satisfaction according to AC Neilsen,” he added, referring to an annual dealer survey that has seen the brand’s performance improve markedly.

“We have a clear plan to break 12,000 sales in 2010,” Mr Hofmann said.

“And the A5 Sportback is a key part of that plan.

“Every Audi dealer by the end of this year will have a refurbishment.

“(I am happy) leaving knowing that the infrastructure (is in place and) working.

“With the momentum we have I am confident that we will have another record year in Australia.”

Audis in the pipeline
A5 Sportback	February 2010
A4 2.0TDie	February 2010
S5 Sportback	late 2010
A8	Q3 2010
R8 Spyder	late 2010
A1	Early 2011
A7	2011
A6	2012
A3	2013
Q3	2013