Audi 2006 Annual Report Download - page 30

One world –
one brand
World market rewards Audi strategy
ECONOMY: AUDI IN THE GLOBAL MARKET
PHOTO: MARKUS HINTZEN
28 AUDI 2006 ANNUAL REPORT
Ralph Weyler (54) has been Member of the
Board of Management of AUDI AG for
Marketing and Sales since 2003, and has
been working in the car industry for 23 years.
Whoever aims to position a worldwide
brand successfully in this day and age
needs courage and stamina. That is
be-
cause there are around 56,000 brands
in Germany alone, and on average every
consumer there encounters some
3,000
advertising messages from brands
every single day. Anyone seeking to
establish a brand on an international or
even global scale, and not just nation-
ally, is facing a challenge of an entirely
different magnitude, especially if the
products in question are in the premium
bracket. The example of what Audi has
achieved over the past decade never-
theless demonstrates that it is possible
and right to pursue a globally uniform
brand strategy for a premium product.
The market is rewarding the strategy
pursued by Audi. Vehicle sales, for
example, more than doubled between
1995 and 2006, from 450,000 to over
905,000 units. And this volume growth
was in no way achieved at the expense
of profitability. The average transaction
price has risen by almost 50 percent,
from the equivalent of less than 26,000
euros to around 35,000 euros. Audi aims
to increase its sales further by 2015 to
around 1.5 million vehicles, thus rein-
forcing its status as a global brand.
The basis of the product portfolio is
the A4 car line, which accounts for
around 45 percent of sales. By way of
comparison, ten years ago this model
accounted for around two-thirds of to-
tal sales. The Audi A4 will always re-
main an important model, but new car
lines will be added to the range, espe-
cially in the higher segments.
A premium image is established
mainly “from above”, so the A6 and
even more so the A8 are responsible for
Audi’s positioning worldwide.
World brands depend on recognition
and thus uniform positioning. An
emotional product must take account
of the requirements and specific char-
acteristics of a regional market. That is
why Audi pursues the principle of
“glocalisation” in its brand and product
communication – in other words, in-
troducing local attributes to a global
idea. Typical examples include the
larger interior of the A6 in China, be-
cause these models are used predom-
inantly for chauffeur-driven travel, and
the fitting of rough-road suspension in
India. The experience of recent years
serves to endorse this strategy. Audi is
the top brand in the premium segment
in Eastern Europe and Russia. It is like-
wise number one in countries such as
Spain, the Netherlands, Austria, Turkey
and Argentina.
The success achieved by Audi as a
global brand is based on the fact that
the emotional essence of the brand
is internationally understood and es-
teemed, and that the substantive qual-
ity of the products can be constantly
experienced. The key element to the
success of a brand is its products. Em-
phasis is being given not merely to
their sales success in absolute terms.
For example, although fewer of the
A6 are sold than of the A4, the A6 is
the world market leader in its particu-
lar segment. The A8, with its 8, 10 and
12-cylinder* versions, gave Audi a
tremendous push in defining its pre-
mium positioning. The new R8* has
even earned Audi the reputation as
“the world’s hottest brand”.
“The success achieved
by Audi as a global
brand is based on the
fact that the emotional
essence of the brand
is internationally under-
stood and esteemed.”