[DicKy]

Originally Posted by GTO

You know who will be watching these numbers closely? You know who has the potential to become a game-changer? Yup, LEXUS

Yep, Lexus will be bring a thunderstorm to the party and will make the efforts of Audi over the years seem puny.
But what is so crucial to spoil the german party is a diesel.
And the only diesel that it has is the Is220d. And assuming that they would go for the top-down approach,the LS only has a v8 petrol and a hybrid.
hmm... can't they tweak the LC v8 diesel to be more refined and shoe horn it in?

[v1kram]

GTO, can we have the figures for Jaguar & Land Rover as well?

[PlatzdaTurbo]

Originally Posted by anekho

Just for comparisons sake, what were Audi's figures like?

Audi's figures cant be compared to the other 2 as they are well behind. On an independent level though, their growth has been excellent. Audi have sold 3006 vehicles. 81% growth, the highest of the big 3.

[av8er]

Its soon going to be in Alphabetical order.
A - Audi
B- BMW..
.......
M- Merc

[ACM]

X1 may well be the game changer in 2011. I don't belive than Merc has an answer to it, also the 3 series vs c class may see c class win as the 3 series will be eaten up by it's own brother the X1. The E-Class will probably continue to lead vs the 5 series as it seems to be doing it month on month as well, also the S-Class will probably win over the 7 series and the GL over the X5.

In the end BMW will probably have higher units sold in 2011 thanks to the X1 and Merc will probably make more money. Audi's may not really make it big unless they get better priced and lexus too can make a dent only with better pricing, Lexus and Audi do not command the kind of premium that merc and BMW do.

[stanjohn123]

Lexus will so have to get the IS in India. I'm sure most luxury owners will opt them just for their reliability and luxury if nothing else. What are they still waiting for ?

[fz_rider]

Originally Posted by GTO

Gran Turismo : 150

As far as I remember , the GT was a limited edition ( 100 nos. ) . Then how come 150?

[PlatzdaTurbo]

Originally Posted by ACM

Lexus and Audi do not command the kind of premium that merc and BMW do.

Well, cant really comment on Lexus as they aren't here yet but i wouldn't be too sure about that statement being applicable for Audi anymore. Especially after seeing their sales in the last fiscal. I agree and have said before that their sales figures cant be compared to the other 2 who are still ahead by a substantial margin but an 81% upwards graph means Audi surely are racing ahead quickly. Again,without comparing with BMW & Merc, today you will find many individuals who aspire to own specifically an Audi. It is actually like they might be quite some time away from being able to own a German luxo badge but their minds are specifically set on AUDI. Gone are the days when an amount in excess of Rs.25 lakhs unanimously meant "Mercedes Benz". Lastly, just going by the amount of Audis i have suddenly started spotting on the road off late , the Audi A6 included (in the 2.7tdi guise 95% of the times) I have definitely started believing that Audi too, are now at the same level of premium as the other 2 players in our nation and people are willing to pay MORE for the iconic 4 rings as well.
A year ago , i would have seconded your statement

[RROD]

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[S350L-E240]

ACM, The E has never outsold the 5, atleast not from the time the F10 has been launched, and believe me if the F10 was there from Jan 2010, it would have been ahead of the E by atleast 20% and that you will see in the year 2011, the E will continue being outsold overall by the F10 as the F10 does everything a Mercedes earlier did and still offers better driving dynamics.

X1 will eat into the 3's sales but believe me at this point I'd prefer the 320d Corp. Ed. as it can be had quickly and with gorgeous discounts.

I think BMW India will cross 10,000 units in the year 2011, as their december sales was at 901 or 910 cars and the boost will not just come from X1 but the 5 also and ofcourse the X3 which will be assembled from April 2011.

Mercedes-Benz India, has a new CEO but they do not have the right products as of now to give BMW the right fight, yes the S is there and so are few others but in most segments currently BMW will be ahead, but with the new ML etc in 2012 things do look bright for Mercedes in future but until then BMW have a easy ride home.

Another point is a lot of people refer to the X1 as a GLK competetor which is not really the case as the GLK if ever launched will compete with the X3 / Audi Q5 and will not be able to generate the kind of volume the X1 will add. The C-Class facelift will add a little boost to sales but in few months comes the all new 3 which will just go over the C like a bulldozer and also for some reason BMW India really know their marketing game a lot more then Mercedes India who should have been better.

Coming to Audi, while they will not have the freshest lineup of cars I think the brand is still maturing in India and will take them a while to get at par or close to BMW or Mercedes-Benz in terms of sales as seen by the A4, being the newest car in it's segment the C & 3 still outsell it. I also do not think the A8 will break any new grounds compared to the 7 and S as in that segment the S has established itself way too well and then the 7 takes the position so lets see if the A8 can break any barriers here, I still think BMW and Audi should start assembling the 7 and A8 in India to reduce costs and offer value like the S.

Yes Audi is growing, and will continue but I do not think the company's target of being #1 by 2015 is achieveable and also I do not like the point where they use them coming in last as the reason for their sales being lower, if that was the case Mercedes should always be the leader right? I mean the A6 sold 14 cars in December 2010, yes it's old but so were the 5 and E in their last few months but still did good numbers.

Also any concrete info on Lexus ? Ferrari? and also any sales figures for Bentley / RR / Lamborghini / JLR ?

Over all this is how I think the markets should look next year,

BMW - 10,000 +
Mercedes-Benz - 8000 +
Audi - 5000 +

JLR / Porsche / RR / Bentley / Various others - 2000 Units Approx

[KiloAlpha]

It is very possible that the brand images of BMW and Merc have reflected in sales?
BMW is for someone who has the money and loves cars
Merc is for the old, established, "captain of the industry" types

[StarrySky]

Originally Posted by PlatzdaTurbo

Well, cant really comment on Lexus as they aren't here yet but i wouldn't be too sure about that statement being applicable for Audi anymore. Especially after seeing their sales in the last fiscal. I agree and have said before that their sales figures cant be compared to the other 2 who are still ahead by a substantial margin but an 81% upwards graph means Audi surely are racing ahead quickly.

Audi is surely gaining acceptance, but how significant is the 81% growth figure? Last year even Merc and BMW sales have gone up by 70-80%. That means that the whole luxury car market itself has seen big growth and Audi is getting a small(er) pie from it. In terms of the actual number of units sold, the gap between Audi and Merc/BMW would have only widened in 2010.

[PlatzdaTurbo]

Originally Posted by StarrySky

Audi is surely gaining acceptance, but how significant is the 81% growth figure? Last year even Merc and BMW sales have gone up by 70-80%. That means that the whole luxury car market itself has seen big growth and Audi is getting a small(er) pie from it. In terms of the actual number of units sold, the gap between Audi and Merc/BMW would have only widened in 2010.

That is exactly why i mentioned 'in isolation' didn't i ?
Audi's figures are substantially behind BMW and Merc so it makes little sense in comparing Audi's figures with the other 2.
A growth of 81% in itself, whether compared or independently, is an impressive figure so its laudable.
As far as the gap is concerned, sure BMW is barging ahead furiously but IMO compared to last year the gap in units sold between Mercedes and Audi has actually REDUCED.(correct me if i am wrong)

[entropy]

Originally Posted by KiloAlpha

BMW is for someone who has the money and loves cars
Merc is for the old, established, "captain of the industry" types

Just to add to that
Audi is for the techno-savvy type with focus on relative VFM (gizmos) - IMHO

[StarrySky]

Originally Posted by PlatzdaTurbo

As far as the gap is concerned, sure BMW is barging ahead furiously but IMO compared to last year the gap in units sold between Mercedes and Audi has actually REDUCED.(correct me if i am wrong)

That can't be 'mathematically' true, considering that Merc sold lot more units than Audi last year, and Merc and Audi sales have grown by almost same % (80 v 81) this year.