[drmohitg]

Originally Posted by Aditya

Today, we are going by figures that are available. BMW is welcome to share its sales figures with us if they want to. No one's stopping it.

But as responsible forum it is still wrong on our part to assume whats not proven or supported by facts right? We can say that Audi has managed to achieve a herculean task but still there is nothing to prove that it has overcome BMW. Just my 2 cents.

[swiftnfurious]

I think where BMW is losing the plot is on the SUV range I believe. When I see lot of Q7 around, there are hardly any time I come across an X3 or an X5. So probably a complete re-design of this line and also introduction of a spare tyre can bring in the required numbers?

I remember BMW was going in full swing some time back with Audi trailing and Merc no where in the pic. How dynamics have changed!

[Vid6639]

Originally Posted by drmohitg

But as responsible forum it is still wrong on our part to assume whats not proven or supported by facts right? We can say that Audi has managed to achieve a herculean task but still there is nothing to prove that it has overcome BMW. Just my 2 cents.

Everytime BMW is in the last position, they don't share figures or issue a press release saying that they are last place.

When they are on top we see numbers and press release.

If this was false marketing by Audi, would BMW keep quiet and watch without a response?

The Q3S has done extremely well for Audi whereas the 1 and A class have not made a big impact. Unfortunately I can only go by what I see on the roads and not by numbers. I see a Q3S almost daily but a 1 or A class is rare.

[zenren]

Originally Posted by Vid6639

Unfortunately I can only go by what I see on the roads and not by numbers. I see a Q3S almost daily but a 1 or A class is rare.

Is it the same Q3S that you see everyday? I see A and B class very frequently but its the same two cars. I've not seen a second A class or B class till date.

[Vid6639]

Originally Posted by zenren

Is it the same Q3S that you see everyday? I see A and B class very frequently but its the same two cars. I've not seen a second A class or B class till date.

hahaha. Nope. All different colours and all different numbers in diff places.

1 and A class very rare. Off late I have started seeing more B classes.

Merc can't do much till their new C class is out and Audi have a slight price advantage with the A4 vs the 3 series.

BMW's other problem is the 3 series is eating into the sales of the 5 series. Merc and Audi don't have that problem with the A6 and new E class.

Then when it comes to SUV's. BMW priced the new X1 so high that it was dead on launch. Have seen barely 2-3 cars till now with the new faceilft.

Audi are enjoying with the Q3 and Q3S. Move a step up and Merc and Audi are doing well with the Q5 and ML. ML250 is priced similar to X3 and Q5 but is almost a segment larger. Q5 has price advantage but X3 is left with high price tag and smaller size than ML.

Q7 is pretty much the defacto in large SUV's with the GL and X5 hardly putting up a fight. In that bracket you also get the Porsche and the Range Rover so even more difficult for Merc and BMW.

[vvijay]

The luxury car market in India grows drastically and how! Simply shows how much Indian car market is maturing by the year. This should certainly make the BMW and Merc guys have longer days at work. Looks like there's another success story in the making with the kind of lineup Audi has got for the present and the future.

[zenren]

Originally Posted by vvijay

This should certainly make the BMW and Merc guys have longer days at work. Looks like there's another success story in the making with the kind of lineup Audi has got for the present and the future.

10002 from Audi and 9003 from Merc seems to indicate that there is more demand than what they can currently supply. It doesn't look like Audi eating away from Merc which is when they should start worrying. Looks like there is plenty of pie left even after they've had their share.

BTW, may be Audi should take a part of the VW or Skoda plant on lease as they are short of supply. VW and Skoda seems to be having enough and more free capacity.

[drmohitg]

Originally Posted by Vid6639

Everytime BMW is in the last position, they don't share figures or issue a press release saying that they are last place.

When they are on top we see numbers and press release.

If this was false marketing by Audi, would BMW keep quiet and watch without a response?

See whats happening behind the scenes is not what we are bothered about. But as a Forum which millions of readers subscribe too, its not morally right to post a claim made by Audi without the numbers to support it. The numbers of BMW may be less or more but that is not the point. Anyways I felt like bringing that to your notice and if you Mods feel its appropriate then let it be. Cheers!

Anyways it is good to see luxury car makers finding so many buyers. May be in the near future we can hope to see them start manufacturing the cars here and bringing down the costs substantially.

Audi A3 is just going to make the task even tougher for BMW and Mercedes. BMW, as someone rightly pointed out, needs to seriously start marketing its SUV segment. Out of 10 luxury SUVs out there, 6 are Audi, 3 are Mercedes and probably only 1 is a BMW going by what you see on the roads every day.

[zenren]

Originally Posted by drmohitg

Anyways it is good to see luxury car makers finding so many buyers. May be in the near future we can hope to see them start manufacturing the cars here and bringing down the costs substantially.

Given how our politicians seem to come out with new strategies to tax the rich more, these companies might be better off with the CKD import route since the policies could change any day just like our SUV definition and so on. Any move to tax these guys more would actually be welcomed by the aam junta too and would not see any opposition.

[PlatzdaTurbo]

Originally Posted by drmohitg

See whats happening behind the scenes is not what we are bothered about. But as a Forum which millions of readers subscribe too, its not morally right to post a claim made by Audi without the numbers to support it. The numbers of BMW may be less or more but that is not the point. Anyways I felt like bringing that to your notice and if you Mods feel its appropriate then let it be. Cheers!

The last few years with BMW having the clear lead they had the sales figures to show with Audi & Merc showing their respective sales figures and ending up 2nd/3rd. What explains BMW not disclosing the numbers ?
Besides, if BMW suddenly are just not going to come up with their sales figures how else do you propose can sales figures be compared ?

[drmohitg]

Originally Posted by PlatzdaTurbo

The last few years with BMW having the clear lead they had the sales figures to show with Audi & Merc showing their respective sales figures and ending up 2nd/3rd. What explains BMW not disclosing the numbers ?
Besides, if BMW suddenly are just not going to come up with their sales figures how else do you propose can sales figures be compared ?

See first of all let me clarify upfront that its not about Audi vs BMW or that I am defending BMW. But unless they share there true numbers, there is no way a forum of this high repute can or should go with what an Audi press release says. You can predict in your analysis and it can be an observation that may be Audi is on number one. But to write the same as an article is like giving it some sense of validity which you cannot since you do not have the exact numbers. Its merely a speculation. And till date I haven't seen such speculations on the Forum official articles and hence my reaction. If BMW declines to share its numbers then you just cannot do a comparison and you can only compare Audi and Mercedes. As per my last post I brought it to there notice and now its upto there judgement.
Nevertheless kudos to Audi for having crossed the 10k mark.

[PPS]

Some credit should also go to Michael Perschke who was the media's darling during those times.

Here is an old interview published in Forbes 2yrs ago.
http://forbesindia.com/article/cross...d-audi/33094/0

[Shivank]

Kudos to Audi for that as it has clearly dethroned its arch-rivals- Mercedes and BMW from the top spot here in India.

While many of us sit here and discuss what went wrong with the other two, I think most of it is down to the product. If you compare any single Audi car with its counterparts you will come to know what's what. The A4/A6/Q5/Q3 and even the 6 year old Q7, which are the volume products, they all trump their competition when it comes to features/VFM. Plus, compared to the other two- which have been in the business for a long while, Audi has a little bit of exclusivity, be it is in its name or the logo.

Being a petrol-head myself, a BMW is what I would always crave for! And on desirability factor, I still don't compare a BMW or an Audi to the sheer presence of a three-pointed star i.e., Mercedes Benz.

But come to the real world, use 25% percent of your brain, prioritize your needs and you know where to put all your hard saved money. I bet for more than 80% of the people it's the Audi. You couldn't argue that a BMW is a driver's delight and that a Mercedes has the best ride, but the Audi does the best of both worlds for you. And that's where it scores!

And while the Q3S is supposed to bring volumes for Audi, the formula hasn't quite worked till now. As far as I know, there's a huge demand for Q3S but Audi is just not able to deliver it. There is a waiting period of 2-3 months on the car and some of the dealerships haven't even got a TD vehicle.

Now, with the A3 coming sometime this year, you and me can only guess where the numbers would be at the end of 2014. ;-)

[GTO]

Originally Posted by drmohitg

The article claims that Audi has dethroned BMW from the number one position. But at then end of the article its mentioned that BMW has yet not shared its numbers. Then how did you arrive at this conclusion?

Super-reliable unofficial insider sources (from BMW itself) have confirmed that Audi has indeed outsold BMW in 2013.

[vb-saan]

^^Just thinking – if it was really a false claim from Audi, would BMW folks have kept quiet on the matter?

And with the A3 sedan coming up, it looks pretty bright for Audi India. BMW’s product portfolio looks pretty stagnant for 2014, but Mercedes should be able to give a good fight with the imminent arrival of CLA, GLA and the new C.