Audi US sales surprisingly weak in January - A3, A6, A8 in trouble

MercBasher submitted on 02/01/2007 Official AutoSpies Timestamp: 2:30 PM
from: www.autospies.com

[28] user comments | category: Spy Shots

Tags: Audi trouble in US

Audi trouble in US

Forget all you have read about an Audi resurgence in the US, in fact many Audi lines have sharply declining sales.

These are the sales numbers Audi USA announced today.

A3 DOWN 62.5% Jan 2007 vs Jan 2006
A4/S4 Cabriolet DOWN 22.8%
A6 DOWN 44.4%
A8 DOWN 40.3%
TT DOWN 87.8%

A4 up 11.8%
Q7 new

Total Audi sales in January were higher than a year ago (6,399 vs. 6084) because of the Q7 new model (1,634 units), and incredibly cheap leases on the A4 (2,865 vs. 2,563)

Other Audi models were not so fortunate, the A6 sold less than 1000 units in the month - a shocking decline (901 in 2007 vs. 1,620 in 2006) for a former mainstream model.

Audi is treading water in the US and a real resurgence requires more than the addition of the limited production R8 and A5 coupes.

Comments:

Images hosted in your AgentSpace can now be posted in the comments section using the following syntax (case matters):
[img]IMAGE URL[/img]
Example: [img]http://agent004.myautospies.com/users/150/Sample-Gallery/sample1.JPG[/img]

bulldogz - 2/1/2007 2:50:20 PM

-2 Boost

new TT should turn around that neg. 87% a bit. When is the new A6 coming out btw? Any spy pics yet?

reply to this comment

IamEvilHomer - 2/1/2007 9:14:34 PM

0 Boost

th refresh comes out in 2008 but you are 3 to 4 years out for the new a6

Agent009 - 2/1/2007 2:52:14 PMView My AgentSpace

-3 Boost

Just a reminder one month does not make a year. Audi is also posting against a January of 2006 that was a 20% gain from the prior year. It is pretty hard to show double digit gains following a banner month like that. So even though you can't argue with the facts, you may want to hold off on the getting nails ready for a coffin.

We will see how the other Premium makes do this month before jumping to any conclusions.

reply to this comment

ferplexion - 2/1/2007 3:06:55 PM

-2 Boost

What is this, propaganda? Audi posted a 5.2% net increase in January Sales, which is pretty good considering that many of their products are nearing the end of their lifecycle. In fact, it's surprising to see B7 A4 sales are up in its last model year.

reply to this comment

PlanoA4 - 2/1/2007 3:15:04 PM

-1 Boost

So funny the post forget to mention:

Lexus
IS 250/350 -20% for January
GS 430/450h -37% for January

Actually the LS and ES are the only models showing any gain of substance for Lexus this month. So Echoing 009. One month is not much to go on.

Audi was up 5.2% and Lexus up only 8.0%. That in itself tells you January was simply a weak month.

reply to this comment

Agent009 - 2/1/2007 4:32:28 PMView My AgentSpace

+1 Boost

I think Plano was showing it was a soft January for most makes. Toyota has been flying along in double digits then wham 4%. It affected most everyone.

IamEvilHomer - 2/1/2007 9:17:48 PM

0 Boost

Audi sales re up 5%

The A8 is about to get replaced

the A6 is not being supported or advertised

the TT is not out

the A3 is a low volume car and a few hundred more or less each month will change the % as lot

I agree they need to try to sell the A6 and A8 more

DavidRoss - 2/1/2007 3:47:52 PM

+3 Boost

Wow, touchy. No one forgot to mention anything. Why would 'MercBasher' include sales results for Lexus in a post entitled, "Audi US sales surprisingly weak in January?"

reply to this comment

chewy - 2/1/2007 3:50:59 PMView My AgentSpace

-3 Boost

Yes, the TT is sold in a limited quantatity with some sort of special edition because the new one is coming soon. Most dealers don't have any new TTs at all.

The Q7 is taking A6 sales as the SUV is king here in the states.

New product and a brand new marketing campaign start in April.

reply to this comment

chewy - 2/1/2007 3:52:39 PMView My AgentSpace

-2 Boost

The leases on the A4 are no cheaper than what BMW, MB and Lexus have done for ages. This is the first time that Audi has ever done a "cheap" lease. Audi is just doing what others have done for a very long time.

1970toyotamarc - 2/1/2007 3:57:46 PM

+2 Boost

http://www.autospies.com/news/Audi-Posts-a-5-2-Increase-in-January-Sales-12196/

Read the comments, I already brought this concern of low sales to light, tho I was bitch-slapped for doing so.
Audi cannot grow on the success of the Q7. The same thing happened with the Cayenne. Porsche got a quick boost, then relied on the new Cayman and constant restyles of the 911 and Boxster to grow the brand. The future of Porsche is not the Cayenne, as the future of Audi is hopefully not the Q7.

reply to this comment

S4cabriofoxone - 2/1/2007 4:48:13 PMView My AgentSpace

+1 Boost

MercBahser, I should've known you'd post a comment like this.

Why do you hate Audi so much?

The TT, Audi's biggest loss, is basically not on sale any more. I haven't seen any in my local dealers

No, that doesn't explain the A8 or A6. But the A3- that's a tough car to maintain sales with. It's strong one year, but in the US, it could tank the next.

As for the S4/A4 Cabriolet. I'm going to use the BMW excuse. It's being re-stocked by the newer version.

reply to this comment

MercBasher - 2/2/2007 3:09:38 PM

+2 Boost

Audi has decent products and does well in other markets. So one or more of the following is to blame:
i.) Dealers
ii.) Marketing
iii.) Pricing
iv.) Reliability
v) Image
vi.) Products
As mentioned the products do well elsewhere, Audi dealers aren't great but not so bad that total Audi sales should be less than typical monthly sales for the Acura TL.

So what I'm getting at is why doesn't VW Audi fire all the executives for Audi of America and start afresh?

trd1 - 2/1/2007 5:51:43 PM

0 Boost

dang TT down 87.8%, thats alot of sales.

reply to this comment

chewy - 2/1/2007 6:33:01 PMView My AgentSpace

0 Boost

There are no new TTs for sale in likely 90% of all dealerships. The TT will post monster numbers when it comes out in April.

S4cabriofoxone - 2/1/2007 10:42:52 PMView My AgentSpace

-1 Boost

The TT isn't a car right now.

MunichRob - 2/1/2007 7:44:37 PMView My AgentSpace

+1 Boost

Obviously the TT isn't selling well right now as there's a new model on the horizon. The A6 is serious need of some bigger engines & correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe the A8 is soon to be fitted with a 350hp engine which would also explain a sales loss.

The A5 should lend a helping hand getting Audi to surpass Mercedes eventually, but I doubt they'll be taking the number 1 spot over at least the next 10 years.

reply to this comment

S4cabriofoxone - 2/1/2007 10:44:04 PMView My AgentSpace

0 Boost

The A8 already has the 350hp engine. It's pretty fab.

The A6 is too heavy to be a serious sport sedan. I can understand why someone would buy an E or 5 over it. Although, I'd probably buy an A6 over a 5. I did before.

And Munich, I definitely agree with that last part. BMW has a good lead, but it will be a close race for #2 between Audi and Mercedes.

ThaR8Don - 2/1/2007 11:53:59 PM

+3 Boost

Actually S4cabriofoxone we get plenty of traffic on the A6. Most of the clients I encounter say they preferr the A6 but BMW and MB have much more aggressive lease programs. If we didn't have such a lease driven market the true numbers would show quite a difference. The typical 5 series buyer and E350 buyers are buying the payments not the cars. this I know for a fact from direct customer feed back. BTW Audi outsells BMW in Germany. BMW only outsells them here in the states. And I believe BMW slightly outsells MB in the states as well. World wide BMW is ahead of Audi by about 1-200,000 units which seems like a lot but if Audi expands it's line which is really a big part of whats needed they WILL overtake them. That is one of the biggest reasons Toyota is so big they have an enourmus # of models.

ThaR8Don - 2/1/2007 11:41:12 PM

+1 Boost

A3 DOWN 62.5% Jan 2007 vs Jan 2006 <-as expected with no real support.
A4/S4 Cabriolet DOWN 22.8% <-- umm it's not convertible season and there are very few of these in stock
A6 DOWN 44.4% <-- points have already been made. They also cut back production some where close to the 44% mark a few months back
A8 DOWN 40.3% <-- again not very many in stock production cut back as well.
TT DOWN 87.8% <-- car did not exist in the California market which is a big contributor as well as most were sold out by years end. But even with all os this they gained 5% Wow and we call this a failure?

A4 up 11.8%
Q7 new

reply to this comment

1970toyotamarc - 2/2/2007 4:39:49 PM

+1 Boost

To break down your lame excuses...
A3, sales down, Audi may not produce many because Audi knows people dont want to spend that kind of money on such a small car
Cabriolet, sales down in the winter??? Hello, the numbers are being compared to last January, which I believe was also winter.
A6 and A8, sales down because of a cutback, hello, cutbacks happen when sales fall, not the other way around.
TT, sales down, but other cars continue to sell right up until the introduction of a new vehicle, thats part of the game.

thanks for playing. try again

Neverfollow - 2/2/2007 4:50:17 PM

+2 Boost

Hum, lets see. The Q7 was built primarily for the US and is meant to be a volume product. It is quite easily the most inventoried and promoted product Audi has next to the A4.

The A4 had significant sales increases even though it's nearing the end of it's product cycle. The Lexus IS/GS had sales decreases even though they are relatively new products.

The A6 and A3 sell very well in most of the rest of the world. They also make more money selling them there as well. In the US the A6 and A3 have very little support from AFS and there is very little inventory.

The new TT doesn't arrive in showrooms until April of 2007. There were only 99 SE 2006 Coupes made for the US and 99 SE Roadsters. Those were the last TTs made for US consumption. Even if they sold all of them, they wouldn't make much of an impact on overall sales.

A8 allocation has been cut back for US due to high demand in other parts of the world. Again, since profit margins are much lower here compared to just about anywhere else in the world, the bulk of production is going to where the $$$ is.

reply to this comment

forsale_fc2004 - 2/3/2007 6:50:25 AM

+2 Boost

As a current Audi owner, the thing that is holding me back from going with another audi product are couple of things

1) Audi's have gotten ridiculously expensive compared to it's peers. I mean a comparable Audi to say a BMW often runs the same if not more than the BMW...Now, I wouldn't mind paying the same for an Audi as a BMW if it weren't for the second problem......

2) Audi's resale value stinks. it's not even close to the resale value of BMWs...Ok, so I wouldn't mind buying something I liked pre-owned if it weren't for the third thing

3) Audi's reliability no better/worse than any other VAG product. Now, I won't say that BMW's is much better here. And at least the nice thing about Audi's is that since there is so much platform sharing with other VAG products, parts are pretty cheap to come by. But VAG isn't necessarily known to be a leader in reliability. I'm even willing to give the Germans a little leeway here.

.....With the three competing issues above, it's really hard for me to convince myself to purchase another Audi product...and the only reason why I haven't considered a BMW yet is 1) I don't like the banglized designs 2) BMW needs to work on that sorry excuse of an interior design.

So, for now, I'm just waiting for something better to come along.

Now with the TT or A5...hummm, possible....But again, it will probably be ridiculously expensive and the resale will probably be crap.

reply to this comment

MSC06 - 2/3/2007 5:44:54 PM

+1 Boost

Would you ever buy a Cadillac? What about the 2008 CTS?

huu76 - 2/4/2007 3:12:09 PM

+1 Boost

Don't know if anyone's mentioned it yet, but I'd have to say the A3 is getting killed by top line VW's. Why get a base A3 when you can get a better value VW. Or for a few thousand more, you can get a TSX that only comes loaded. I'd mention the CSX but you guys don't get it yet.

Chewy,
Audi and VW have gone down to 1.9% before in Canada. The cheapest I've ever seen Lexus go is 3.9% on final year models or leases. Last I checked, they still charge 6.9% financing.

I'd say Audi really only needs to worry about the A4 decline, since the rest aren't high volume anyway.

I must be missing something, the A4 is only 2 years old. It got a big facelift and a brand new engine. How is this end of cycle?

reply to this comment

Neverfollow - 2/7/2007 5:48:12 PM

+1 Boost

Platform change time. The current platform is the same one from US MY2002. As will all of the German brands, they tend to do a fairly major overhaul around mid-cycle to keep the car fresh. This was done to coincide with the launch of the new BMW 3 Series in mid-2005. The all-new A4 platform will be bigger and most importantly, have a completely different architecture. Audi is moving the engine further to the rear, giving the car better balance. They are also moving it up a notch to what I call the "tweener" size of the Volvo S60, Acura TL, Cadillac CTS. Look for it to be about the same size as the previous generation 5 series BMW. German brands put a lot more engineering into a basic platform and its very expensive and must last for a while. That is why they only change them every 7-8 years as opposed to 3-4 for the Asian brands. Domestics also stay the same for a long long long long time because they can't afford to change them very often. This is why they tend to get very outdated after only 3-4 years.

To post a comment for this story, you must first Login.

If you do not have an account, you will need to Register (It's Free!).

	MercBasher If everyone agrees then we're probably all wrong at once!
	View My AgentPage