INGOLSTADT, GERMANY
– Audi AG Chief Executive Rupert Stadler said that the automaker is in talks
with parent Volkswagen AG over building a new plant in North
America and reiterated Audi’s target of selling more than 1
million cars this year for the first time, according to www.marketwatch.com.
In March,
Stadler had said that Audi would also consider setting up a plant on its own in
the dollar zone, noting that production would start in 2010 at the earliest as
Audi “won’t make any hasty decisions.”
Car sales
are expected to be fueled in coming months by the revamped version of Audi’s
best-selling A4 model, which was first shown at the Frankfurt auto show in September and is currently being rolled out globally. The new A4
model along with the new A5 coupe are cornerstones of Audi’s plan to narrow the
gap with its two German premium-brand peers. Audi hopes to outpace BMW AG (BMW.XE)
and Daimler AG’s Mercedes-Benz brand and reach annual sales of 1.5 million cars
by 2015.
Audi
enjoyed strong growth in recent years, especially in Asia and Europe, but is
still lagging behind its German peers in terms of sales in the U.S. market. Audi aims to boost its U.S. sales to 200,000 in 2015 from 93,506 in 2007.
Stadler
said Audi plans to have up to 12 dealerships in India by the end of this year and
increase the number of Chinese dealerships to 132, from 125 currently. And, a
90 more will be added in China by 2012.
In the
first four months of the year, Audi’s sales were up 1.7 percent compared with the same
period last year at around 338,000 cars, with demand in Eastern
Europe and Asia-Pacific markets fostering growth. Audi expects
markets such as China, India, and Russia
to maintain strong growth momentum this year as the United
States, Western Europe, and
Japan are expected to stagnate or
decline, according to www.marketwatch.com.
Last
month, Audi said first-quarter operating profit rose 28% on the year, driven by
an improved model mix, lower costs, and higher car sales. Along with rising car
sales, Audi expects productivity gains and better efficiency to translate into
higher revenue and profitability in full-year 2008.
