Audi threatens BMW's seven-year reign as No. 1 in global premium sales
FRANKFURT (Bloomberg) -- Audi cut BMW's lead in 2012 luxury-car sales to just 2,110 vehicles in August, threatening BMW's seven-year hold on the top position in premium auto deliveries.
The Volkswagen Group's luxury brand boosted eight-month sales 13 percent to 961,000 vehicles, compared with the BMW brand's 7.8 percent increase to 963,110 autos, according to the two companies' monthly sales reports. BMW, the world's largest-maker of luxury cars, led by 40,513 vehicles through August of last year.
VW is reaping the benefits from pouring 20 billion euros ($25.6 billion) into research and development at Audi since 2002. The luxury brand now sells 12 model lines, twice what it had in 2003, including three SUVs, the A1 compact and the R8 sports car. Audi, which ranks second in premium-vehicle deliveries since overtaking the Mercedes-Benz brand in 2011, has a goal of beating BMW by 2020.
Audi is likely to overtake BMW several years ahead of that target unless "there are surprising shifts in market share which I don't expect, especially in China," said Daniel Schwarz, a Frankfurt-based Commerzbank analyst. "They are the strongest growing luxury brand, and they just launched the A3, which is close to being their best-selling car in a peak year."
The updated A3 hatchback went on sale in Germany in August, three weeks ahead of Mercedes' updated A class. Mercedes plans to expand its lineup of compacts from two to at least five in the coming years, and has opened a new plant in Hungary dedicated to building smaller models. The A3, which made up 14 percent of Audi's 2011 deliveries, starts at 21,600 euros, undercutting the A-class's base price of 23,978 euros.
Audi momentum
"There will be more A-class derivatives over the coming years," said Commerzbank's Schwarz. "But the A3 is established in the market and will take the lead among the three brands, helping Audi to keep its sales momentum."
The 102,730 vehicles BMW sold in August fell short of the 108,100 sold by Audi, which also passed the BMW brand in deliveries in April and July. The VW unit's delivery growth was led by jumps so far this year of 33 percent in China and 18 percent in the United States, the world's two biggest auto markets.
"Every month the figures are surprisingly good," said Frankfurt-based Silvia Quandt analyst Albrecht Denninghoff. "Audi's growth is overwhelmingly because of China, with the United States also playing a role."
Chinese growth
BMW has been slower to capitalize on growth in the Chinese market than Audi, which has built cars in Changchun as part of a joint venture with First Automobile Works since 1996. BMW is now quadrupling its Chinese production capacity, having started manufacturing with partner Brilliance China Automotive Holdings Ltd. in 2003.
Surging China sales have helped Audi double deliveries in the last 10 years, and the luxury brand now accounts for 47 percent of group operating profit. Mercedes-Benz and BMW are both considering following Audi in setting up production in Mexico for the U.S. market, Carlos Guzman, head of ProMexico, said in an interview last month. Mercedes and BMW, unlike Audi, already have U.S. factories.
Audi will invest $1.3 billion in a plant in the state of Puebla to produce the Q5 SUV. The plant is scheduled to open in 2016 with an annual capacity of 150,000 vehicles. "The new factory will help Audi in the U.S.," Denninghoff said. "The 150,000 cars that will come there can certainly compensate for slowing growth in China."
BMW is expecting to regain some sales momentum with the arrival of the wagon version of its 3-series model in showrooms this month. The derivative usually accounts for two-thirds of 3-series registrations in Germany, the carmaker said last week.
BMW has held the luxury-car sales lead since 2005, when it passed Mercedes to grab the top spot.
Last year, BMW brand sold 1.38 million cars and SUVs. Audi sold 1.3 million units, while the Mercedes brand sold 1.26 million vehicles.
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