RE: Sales: Audi / BMW / M-B

[Tom Haapanen <tomh@metrics.com>]

A small note with regards to Audi's new product for 1998 -- the new A6
will have a full year of production, and no plant shutdown for the
switchover.  So with the extra A6 production, plus the TT, it might be
reasonable for Audi to reach 600,000 cars in 1998 (but still not get
really close to BMW or Mercedes).

In order to really go beyond 600,000, they need a substantial plant
capacity increase.  They could always farm out A3 production to VW, but
I really don't think they would risk doing that.

-----
Tom Haapanen -- Software Metrics Inc. -- Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
A Microsoft Solution Provider Partner -- http://www.metrics.com/


> -----Original Message-----
> Date: Sun, 18 Jan 1998 20:56:45 EST
> From: ScharfR <ScharfR@aol.com>
> Subject: Sales: Audi / BMW / M-B
> 
> [...]
>     1997 Worldwide and U.S. Sales Figures
> o  Mercedes-Benz: 715,000 worldwide (+11%).
>                             122,265  in the U.S (+35%).
>                             (including ML320)
> o  BMW:  675,000 worldwide (+4%) 
>                122,467  in the U.S. (+16%)
>                (does not include Rover vehicles)
> o  Audi: 556,000 worldwide (+14%) 
>               34,160  in the U.S. (+25%)
> [...]
> Audi has no big (volume) product launches in the coming year, save for
> the TT.
> That, however, is a niche car and capacity constrained to about 30,000
> per
> year.  It's unlikely that Audi can exceed the 1997 volume by very much
> in
> 1998.
> 
> So... Don't look for a new world order in 1998.
>