A8 a Sales Flop?
10-17-2011, 04:23 PM
#21
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.
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.
I work in Boca Raton Fl which is a very affluent area and have not seen many A8's. The 2 closest AUDI dealers near Boca raton still seem to have a arge 2011 A8 inventory.
The dealer I was dealing with I know has sold 2 (maybe 3) A8's in 3-4 weeks that I am aware of. They offered me $6K below invoice on a Black 2011 LWB but it was too loaded for me and I dont want a LWB anyway.
Having said that, I too have heard that AUDI makes the big $$$ in Europe but at the same time, AUDI stated they were trying to increas sales in the U.S and offering $3K incentives to BMW and LEXUS Owners. So AUDI is definitely trying to capture the competition in the U.S. to some degree
Last edited by GR8-LIFE; 10-17-2011 at 04:48 PM.
10-17-2011, 04:42 PM
#22
It's a reply to post 12 that stated that CR is saying Audi is doing well. That report seems to refute it. So if the poster can post their source exactly, that would help.
Why does it matter? It's only relationship with the A8 is that it's Audi as a manufacturer. So while the A8 may have excellent reliability, the fact that a large proportion of Audi's don't is a concern. You have to think Audi shares the same processes, engineering, manufacturing tools, staff etc. - so what is bad for 1 Audi is possibly bad for all Audis. If not 100% true, then there is increased probability. For example, I've heard that Benzes recently have bad reliability - I'm not sure which models, but why risk it - especially on a new model?
It's like when Toyota Camry's got hammered with the sticky throttle - it wasn't just Camry's that lost out - it was all of Toyota and Lexus. It brings into question the manufacturer, rather than the exact model. Not something Audi likes I'm sure.
Why does it matter? It's only relationship with the A8 is that it's Audi as a manufacturer. So while the A8 may have excellent reliability, the fact that a large proportion of Audi's don't is a concern. You have to think Audi shares the same processes, engineering, manufacturing tools, staff etc. - so what is bad for 1 Audi is possibly bad for all Audis. If not 100% true, then there is increased probability. For example, I've heard that Benzes recently have bad reliability - I'm not sure which models, but why risk it - especially on a new model?
It's like when Toyota Camry's got hammered with the sticky throttle - it wasn't just Camry's that lost out - it was all of Toyota and Lexus. It brings into question the manufacturer, rather than the exact model. Not something Audi likes I'm sure.
Agree with this and disagree. I disagree with the Toyota analogy because Toyotas and Lexus have had decades of the greatest reliability. Not too many Toyota/Lexus owners ran scared about the sticky throttle and much of it was overblown due to the principle itself. I know it didnt bother me one bit and it didnt concern me when I bought my LS460.
I do agree with AUDI reliability concerns on many of their models which is why I am still a tad reluctant to replace my LS with a 2cnd AUDI in the family, even though the A8 looks fabulous! As much as I like AUDI design and their out of the box thinking and ingenuity (as opposed to BMW), I think that AUDI needs to establish a better reliability track record. Perhaps the A8 will be the bar, who knows? But admittedly, its tough for me to replace Lexus quality. The only thing that helps is the A8 design, its AWD feel and its inetrior elegance. Plus, at BMW and MERCS havent seen great quality either. JD Powers rates all 3 about the same. Only Porsche seems to be given very high marks between german manufacturers and I wouldnt quite say they build Luxury sedans
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