DETROIT – Audi is getting tired of being beaten in the U.S. sales reace by Lexus and other luxury brands.
That may change if the German luxury automaker's three-pronged plan to boost sales succeeds. A top Audi executive says the automaker will increase the number of vehicles it offers, add more exclusive dealers and more aggressively promote its brand image with more effective ads and a larger Internet presence.
In a speech at the Automotive News World Congress, Johan de Nysschen, executive vice president of Audi of America Inc., said the automaker is frustrated over its lack of success in the United States. Last year, Audi sold 90,116 vehicles in the United States. Lexus, a much younger brand, sold 322,434 units.
To get noticed, de Nysschen said, Audi will start acting more like an American brand.
“Understatement is inherent in Audi's brand DNA,” he said. “It is who we are. It is our expression of European luxury. Yet we think it's time for Audi of America to stop being so understated and a little more American in telling our brand story.”
To do that, Audi has hired a new ad agency, de Nysschen said. The agency, Venables, Bell & Partners, is developing a message for Audi that is expected to debut in April along with the new TT sports car.
“We've challenged our new agency to build on the brand's history and DNA for product excellence. We want to make a compelling argument to America's discerning luxury buyers that they should consider Audi,” de Nysschen said.
The U.S. growth plan is part of a larger strategy. Audi sold 905,000 vehicles worldwide in 2006. The company's long-term plan, de Nysschen said, is to increase worldwide sales to 1.4 million units by 2015 by raising sales in emerging markets such as China and India.
On the product side, audi is in the midst of launching 19 vehicles in the United States from 2005 to 2007. They include the R8 sports car to challenge the Porsche 911, a mid-sized A5 coupe and the new TT. de Nysschen said Audi is also looking at a small luxury SUV and plans to use diesel engines extensively in North America.
“We've addressed quality and reliability problems that dogged us in the '90s and taken major steps to become segment leaders in quality,” he said. “Our mission and aspiration in the U.S. market is, quite simply, to be recognized as a Tier 1 premium brand in the same light as Mercedes-Benz and BMW, as we already are in Europe and elsewhere around the world.”
