Audi Denies A6L Sales Crisis

“In March of this year, Audi sold more than 20,000 vehicles in China, of which A6L sold over 10,000, and there was no so-called sales crisis.” The related head of Audi of FAW said in an interview with the reporter of “Daily Economic News”.

According to the sales data of the subdivision models obtained by the reporter from relevant industry associations, in February 2011, the Audi A6L sold 2,919 vehicles, a drop of nearly 65% ​​from the previous month. The number of A6L terminal customers delivered by FAW Audi in February was 7,494 vehicles.

Relevant analysts indicated that 2919 vehicles issued by the China Automobile Association were invoiced by the company and 7494 vehicles were delivered by dealers. It can be understood that Audi dealers digested A6L inventory of nearly 4,600 vehicles in February.

An Audi brand dealer in Beijing stated that after sales in February, the proportion of in-store stocks has fallen below 0.5, which is a normal range of 1 to 1.5.

The relevant person in charge of the above-mentioned FAW Audi stated that since mid-February, in order to solve the problem of Audi's capacity shortage in China, the Audi plant has begun to transform the production line until the end of mid-March, in which the major assembly lines for A4L and Q5 are jointly transformed.

According to the above analysts, the buying groups of the Audi A4L and Q5 models are mainly individual consumers. "Obviously, Audi is accelerating its expansion into the personal consumption market in the Chinese market where official car restrictions and self-owned brands are becoming more prominent."

Audi dealers revealed that before 2013, Audi will no longer introduce new domestic models to China. Increasing the proportion of sales of imported vehicles in China is an important task facing FAW Audi.

The competition for localization of Class C cars is becoming increasingly fierce

According to the February sales data released by the China Automobile Association, the Audi A6L sold 2,919 cars, a year-on-year drop of 63.06%. From January to February, the A6L sold a total of 11,200 vehicles in China, a decrease of 38.1% year-on-year. Based on this, the Audi A6L "Official car era" has many speculations of decline. The reporter confirmed to Audi that Audi used the Spring Festival holiday to reconstruct the production line and that it was almost stopped in February, resulting in a significant drop in delivery.

The above analysts said that A6L is still the main model of Audi sales in China, and bears nearly half of Audi's sales. At the same time, the localization rate of the competitive brands BMW 5 Series and Mercedes-Benz E-Class vehicles is increasing. Before the completion of the new factory, both car companies were trying their best to compete in China's C-class car market.

In fact, in order to ensure the extension of the 5 Series supply, BMW Brilliance has reduced the production capacity of the BMW 3 Series this year and will allocate more production capacity to the Extended 5 Series. At the same time, through the import of 3 series to make up for market demand.

Similarly, Mercedes-Benz has used this "maneuvering strategy" several times in the past few years. In July last year, after Mercedes-Benz China stopped importing E-class vehicles, Beijing Benz still imported a number of E-class vehicles through specific channels and sold them domestically. This is because at that time Beijing Benz just adjusted the new E-class production line, the production capacity was not completely released, domestic E-class vehicles can not fully meet market demand. On March 18 this year, Beijing Benz has officially made long-wheelbase E200LCGI elegant.

In this regard, GF Securities automobile industry analyst Yang Huachao said that Audi A6L has advantages in the C-class car market in the past two years. This is because the process of localization of other competing brands will take two to three years to complete, and Audi has a greater advantage in brand recognition in this market in the short term.

It is precisely for the above reasons that Audi China is accelerating its adjustment strategy. The A6L has transformed itself to individual consumers, seeking to make greater breakthroughs in the C-class vehicle market. The production capacity of other models has increased, and Audi has also sold Audi models in China.

A6L to personal consumption

According to data provided by an Audi dealer in Beijing, the personal purchase ratio of A6L has reached about 75%. In other words, the sales advantage of the official car is gradually diminishing.

On the one hand, the demand for government procurement of official vehicles to increase the purchasing power of self-owned brand cars is increasing.

On the other hand, since 2009, Mercedes-Benz and BMW have entered the government procurement scope for official vehicles for the first time. This changed Audi's unique position in the corporate car industry. However, due to the low localization rate, the expansion of Mercedes-Benz and BMW in the field of official vehicles is not rapid. The above analysts believe that with the increase in the recognition of the BMW 5 Series and Mercedes-Benz E-Class vehicles in China, the sales of the two models have entered a period of rapid growth.

The person in charge of the above-mentioned FAW Audi told reporters that the number of government official vehicles accounted for about 20% of the total sales of Audi.

In the face of these challenges, Audi had to turn to the consumer market. The dealer mentioned to reporters that compared with Mercedes-Benz and BMW, Audi is doing the opposite. Contrary to their attempts to find a list of official car purchases, Audi wants to ensure the proportion of official cars while expanding the area of ​​personal purchases. After all, the purchase of official vehicles is very limited compared to personal purchases.

Or slow down the domestic pace before 2013

The dealer mentioned to reporters that before, the sales volume of domestic models contributed to Audi accounted for about 85%. In the next two to three years, Audi hopes to adjust this ratio to 6:4, that is, the sales volume of imported cars can account for Audi. 40% of sales.

The aforementioned person in charge of FAW Audi stated that in 2011, Audi will introduce imported models such as A1 and A7 to expand its market segment. In conjunction with the A8, which was listed in China in early March, it has expanded Audi's market share in imported vehicles.

At the same time, the dealer said that FAW-Volkswagen's fourth factory in Foshan, Guangdong Province, will confirm the production of Audi models. Before the start of production in 2013, Audi will no longer introduce domestic models to China.

Prior to this, Zhang Xiaojun, executive deputy general manager of FAW-Volkswagen Audi Sales Division, said in an interview with the “Daily Economic News” that the A6L was definitely the first type of cart in the future. However, in the future, the sales ratio of A6L should decline because A4L and Q5 are increasing, and the sales ratio of imported cars is also increasing. However, A6L, A4L, and Q5 are certainly the main models.

Zhang Xiaojun also said that about 31,000 imported cars were sold in 2010, accounting for 13% to 14% of the total sales of the Audi brand. In the coming years, the company will speed up the import of cars, promote the sales of imported cars, and introduce all Audi products to the Chinese market before 2015.

In early 2011, Audi China made a high-profile proposal to sell 1 million vehicles in the next three years. At the Geneva Motor Show held in early March, Audi's chairman of the board of directors Steader made it clear that in 2011 Audi's target in the Chinese market is 280,000 vehicles. China will become Audi's largest global sales market.

As we all know, Audi's success is largely due to its success in the Chinese market. Analysts said that Audi's localization advantage can also be maintained for two to three years. At that time, the localization rate of its competitors will not be lower than that of Audi. From the production line renovation, a substantial increase in the proportion of imported cars and other signs can be seen, Audi has begun to strategize in China, looking for new sales growth.