A little insight to what BMW thinks of Audi...
06-08-2007, 10:57 PM
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A little insight to what BMW thinks of Audi...
Below is an extract from a local article about BMW's slower sales growth compared to Lexus and Audi. Apparently BMW doesn't think Audi as a genuine competitor because... wait... Audi cars are not all rear wheel drive!
I find the excuse... a little lame. I think the slower sales growth is a direct result of the bangled design and the fall in quality.
The extract is below:
<i>BMW remains the luxury-brand leader, but according to the latest industry sales figures rivals Lexus and Audi are growing faster than the Munich manufacturer.
Audi sales have increased by 40 per cent over the past 12 months and Lexus's by 16 per cent. In the same year-to-date period, BMW has grown by just 4.1 per cent.
BMW Australia's managing director Guenther Seemann doesn't view Audi as a genuine rival, however, despite the Ingolstadt-based company closing to half BMW's volume so far in 2007 (3,143 v 6,462 sales) compared with about a third in 2006.
<b>"We strongly believe that we have two competitors," says Seemann. "One is from Stuttgart [Mercedes] and one is from Japan [Lexus].
He says Audi's choice of driving wheels rules it out as a true competitor. </B>
"The best real premium brands in the world, like Rolls-Royce and BMW, all have rear-wheel drive [vehicles].
"It is a comfort issue between front- and rear-wheel drive. It's also an issue of sportiness. You do not find a Formula One car with front-wheel drive.
"The performance and handling of the car is for us the most important factor. And this can only be achieved with rear-wheel drive."</i>
I find the excuse... a little lame. I think the slower sales growth is a direct result of the bangled design and the fall in quality.
The extract is below:
<i>BMW remains the luxury-brand leader, but according to the latest industry sales figures rivals Lexus and Audi are growing faster than the Munich manufacturer.
Audi sales have increased by 40 per cent over the past 12 months and Lexus's by 16 per cent. In the same year-to-date period, BMW has grown by just 4.1 per cent.
BMW Australia's managing director Guenther Seemann doesn't view Audi as a genuine rival, however, despite the Ingolstadt-based company closing to half BMW's volume so far in 2007 (3,143 v 6,462 sales) compared with about a third in 2006.
<b>"We strongly believe that we have two competitors," says Seemann. "One is from Stuttgart [Mercedes] and one is from Japan [Lexus].
He says Audi's choice of driving wheels rules it out as a true competitor. </B>
"The best real premium brands in the world, like Rolls-Royce and BMW, all have rear-wheel drive [vehicles].
"It is a comfort issue between front- and rear-wheel drive. It's also an issue of sportiness. You do not find a Formula One car with front-wheel drive.
"The performance and handling of the car is for us the most important factor. And this can only be achieved with rear-wheel drive."</i>
06-08-2007, 11:23 PM
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I think BMW is just trying to differentiate itself from other makers to reduce competition...
It has been using "rear wheel drive" and "sportiness" to make its cars more unique.
To the average consumers, this strategy actually works for BMW.
To the average consumers, this strategy actually works for BMW.
06-09-2007, 04:01 AM
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While I might agree with the design comment, quality
of our 2002 3-series is above that of our former 2002 A4. And our 2006 3-series surpasses the level of quality of our 2002.
X-drive certainly "feels" different than Quattro but our 325xi drove like a champ this past winter. No getting stuck and no drama.
X-drive certainly "feels" different than Quattro but our 325xi drove like a champ this past winter. No getting stuck and no drama.
