Duesmann sits alongside Audi’s futuristic Urbansphere concept, which foreshadows an electric vehicle for other people living in megacities. Rivals are ahead of Audi in launching new electric cars.
If it were mandatory to locate an animal adapted to each of the 12 brands of the Volkswagen Group, the symbol of a lizard would come to the brain of Audi. A lizard has a striking appearance but also remains the maximum of the day.
Within the VW empire, no one doubts the competence of Audi engineers or the ability of designers to create high-end modern vehicles. However, Audi has done very little in 2022 against its premium competition Mercedes-Benz and BMW. And in 2023, there will be few signs of improvement.
Postponed market launches due to software issues, the liquidation of the Artemis autonomous flagship car planned for 2024 and the delay in electric cars mean CEO Markus Duesmann cannot be satisfied with the brand’s functionality in 2022.
Audi is heavily policed through the Porsche-Piech families, the majority shareholders of the VW Group who have had a special affinity for the brand.
The new CEO of the VW Group, Oliver Blume, who runs Porsche, has set himself the task of managing Audi more closely.
Audi is in an embarrassing situation lately: BMW and Mercedes are moving forward with more and more new models, while premium Chinese startups like Nio are putting more pressure on Audi.
China’s weakness
Audi’s weakness is noticeable in China, the industry’s fastest-growing market.
Sales of the high-margin A6 fell 31 in China in the first 3 quarters of 2022 and sales of the A8 premium sedan fell 36Array
“If you look at models comparable to the A6 like the BMW 5 Series or the Mercedes E-Class in China, BMW will be able to increase its sales figures in 2022. It’s not because of the segment. The A6 has a challenge in not thinking of Audi as at the same point as Mercedes and BMW,” said Jochen Siebert, director of JSC Automotive, a consulting firm specializing in the Chinese market.
In reaction to Siebert’s comments, Audi said a total of 496,295 cars delivered in China in the first 3 quarters and cited persistent bottlenecks, especially with semiconductors, as well as COVID-related production restrictions as reasons for its sales difficulties.
Competitors poke fun at Audi’s futuristic Sphere studios. Skysphere, Grandsphere, and Urbansphere are shown.
These disorders will be alleviated this year. But Audi will lack a new high-end style to catch up with the festival in China, but also in Europe and the United States.
The all-electric e-tron model, introduced in 2019, has been updated and renamed the Q8 e-tron. It will reach European concessions at the end of February. The US market launch will take place at the end of April.
The long-awaited Q6 e-tron is expected to be introduced in the fall. This is Audi’s first SUV on the new EPP electric platform developed with Porsche and the brand’s largest all-electric styling launch this year. -electric car after 3 and a half years as CEO of Audi.
A new compact A4 style may still arrive in 2023, and the A6, which is vital as an advertising fleet car, is being refreshed. However, the full electric edition of the A6 will only be available in 2024, while BMW will be able to offer its consumers the i5 and i5 estate from this summer.
The atmosphere at Audi dealerships is bad. The new models don’t arrive fast enough for them.
And Audi’s competition pokes fun at the brand’s smart TV ads for futuristic studios like the Grandsphere. Its leaders say, “We prefer to promote it on TV for cars that can be bought. “
On January 26, Audi will present its fourth Sphere concept called Activesphere. This is a vision whose realization is still a long way off.
Audi sales are expected to fall this year due to the aging of its lineup. Its global deliveries fell 3. 9% to 1. 61 million last year due to extended bottlenecks and primary demand situations in the supply chain, the logo said in a press on Tuesday.
The symbolic adjustment will be relaxed this year, but it will remain a problem. The pause in styling launches will also lead to underutilization of Audi factories.
‘BMW North’
Audi’s unrest and its peak number of former BMW executives in leadership positions mean Audi is being called “BMW North” through disgruntled members of the VW Group leadership in Wolfsburg, according to Der Spiegel magazine.
Audi’s headquarters in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, Germany, is 85 km north of the BMW base in Munich. Duesmann, sales director Hildegard Wortmann and marketing director Henrik Wenders are all former BMW executives.
Sales director Hildegard Wortmann is pressure.
All control of Audi’s founding Formula 1 team also has a BMW past.
With the ouster of former VW Group CEO Herbert Diess, who also arrived from BMW, executives lack support, a source said.
Audi executives say they’ve never heard the term “BMW North. “However, the unrest in Wolfsburg did not subside.
Before Christmas, there were rumors that Wortmann would be replaced in the near future. Wayne Griffiths, most recently head of the VW Group’s Seat/Cupra brands, brought in as his successor. Griffiths is a former head of Audi.
Audi has flatly denied the rumors. But 2023 will be a trial year for Wortmann. Audi will have to deliver on sales.
For Duesmann, the main challenge will be to prove that Audi is accelerating to catch up with its rivals. If he becomes Audi’s CEO again until next year, the logo will have to grow.
Duesmann will get another chance, a source told Automobilwoche. He will have to take advantage of it,” the executive said.
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