BigGrasshopper

Anyone have a bead on whether D4 A8 Sales are doing well?

While it was a long time ago, it seems that the activity on the D3 on this site was significantly higher after the intro of the D3 model. Just judging from activity here, the interest seems to be rather low in the D4.

I know the US economy has been smashed, but I wonder if Audi is getting hosed on D4 sales worldwide.

Incidentally, I had a buddy in town and he currenty has a 2008 Merc S63 and we stopped by Audi to look at the A8 and he said that the design blows the doors off the current S Class Mercedes. Of course everyone knows that. Performance may be another issue, but nonetheless, Audi is getting respect nowadays.

Thoughts on sales figures?

jetinder

In the UK I am seeing a lot more cars these days. I'd imagine it's because the biggest seller here is the 3.0 TDI and that only came out towards the end of 2010. Customers waited to see one before putting an order in, hence the deliveries have ramped up.

My own dealer is doing well, he's selling the allocation from the other branches of the dealership now.

But if you look at the used car website for the UK, there are quite a few cars there for sale. A lot of the cars haven't had a chance to depreciate much, customers could just be waiting.

jperryrocks

Audi is doing quite well with the new 2011 A8 and there's not a whole lot of excess inventory on dealer lots. Record sales in the U.S and worldwide for Audi as a whole.

Calling it a flop aint even close to being true.

The A8 will always be an exclusive car in the U.S Audi doesn't want to be the #1 volume in the 85-100k market segment. The A8 is already the bees knees over in the Euro markets and the car to have over the S class and 7 series.

Audi can make far more money on the A8 overseas than worrying about the Unites States. BMW and Mercedes continue to bribe their customers with loads of incentives to keep buying 7 series and the S class. Audi just doesn't have to offer any kind of special lease deals or offers on A8's.

You buy the car, and not the "deal".

But what is a flop is the housing maket in Miami.

audi40

Worldwide sales for all Audis for first quarter of 2011:

http://www.audi.com/etc/medialib/ngw...2011_q1_en.pdf

BigGrasshopper

Thanks Audi40.

I went through the reports and here is the sales data from Q1 for the past 6 years. The worldwide recession in 2009/2010 killed sales, but 2011 was the best Q1 for the A8, approx. 21% higher than the second best, being Q1 2008.

Q1 2011: 7552
Q1 2010: 3419
Q1 2009: 2697
Q1 2008: 6261
Q1 2007: 5720
Q1 2006: 6074

Interestingly, Audi's official financial reports sometimes have conflicting numbers for prior years, depending on which reports you are looking at. Those were marginal differences, however, but uncharacteristic for ze Germans.

Anecdotally, I have seen only 1 new A8 on the road here in Miami and similarly only 1 in NYC, where I spend about a week each month. By contrast, where I have an office in the parking garage there are 4 Aston Martin Rapides, 4 or 5 RR Phantoms, a multitude of Panameras, and of course a multitude of S-Class. The Panameras and Mercs greatly outnumber the BMW 7 series. My experience in Manhattan has seen about the same ratio.

My point being that the greater sales do not appear to be resulting in more A8s on the road in the U.S. Are the Chinese and Saudis making up a bigger piece of that pie? These observations are anecdotal so please don't be a smarta*s and tell me the world doesn't revolve around Miami and NYC.

jperryrocks

I don't think you can use Miami Florida parking lots as a measuring stick for the new 2011 A8. The new body A8 has only been out less than a year in the U.S. Allocation has been tight and there hasn't been the plethora of inventory for this new body car. You see a lot more of the old body style from '04-'10.

Miami does have the glitz and glamour angle going on as well. And while the economy has suffered and the housing market was in shambles, many people still have a lot of money in Miami. So you see more Bentleys, Astons, and lots of the high dollar cars down there.

The A8 is a conservative car in style and not a flashy ride.

The Florida dealers stocked more W12's than anybody in the past with the old body stlye. You could always count on The Collection having several W12's in stock. But things have changed and the higher end cars are tougher to get than in the past.

derfA8L

I've experienced more frequent D4 sightings in Manhattan over the last month or so. Still a relative rarity on NYC streets, but the numbers are coming up.

Happened to be parked at a 7-11 in my D4 yesterday out on Long Island, and another D4 pulled up for a quick stop. So the numbers seem to be slowly gaining some momentum in the two locations where I generally hang.

woofster

Although I wouldn't say it's a norm, just the other day I saw three D4 A8s on a single drive, all of them about 5 minutes apart. It was surprising but pleasant to see them. There were 2 black ones (couldn't really tell which Audi black they were) and 1 oolong grey one. All looked pretty sharp!

chicagoA6

A8 and A7 May sales figures were released yesterday...

Audi A8 and A7 May sales and news notes
• Audi A8 sales sustain momentum with a sales increase of 661.5% YOY to 495 vehicles sold.
• All-new 2012 Audi A7 continues strong debut sales with 812 vehicles sold.

Considering the limited availability (at least in my area) its a good improvement YOY.

bobbyd1961

if the A8 and A7 re as problematic as my New A5 cabrio then audi is doomed.