Audi 2013 Annual Report Download - page 197

REPORT ON EXPECTED DEVELOPMENTS, RISKS AND OPPORTUNITIES
REPORT ON EXPECTED DEVELOPMENTS
MANAGEMENT REPORT
194
A
// CAR MARKET
The Audi Group estimates that global car markets will experi-
ence only slight growth in 2014.
We anticipate that along with the gradual economic recovery
in Western Europe, there will be a small rise in registrations of
new cars compared with the low level of last year. In Germany
too, the car market could profit from moderate expansion in
the overall economy and achieve slight growth.
Sales growth for cars in Central and Eastern Europe is likely to
only be low due to the very subdued performance of the Russian
market.
In the United States, the ongoing strong replacement demand,
the continuing availability of favorable credit terms and accel-
erating consumer demand should help to maintain the upward
trend in the car market. The rate of expansion will probably be
slightly lower than last year.
For the Latin America region, we expect demand for cars to
remain flat in 2014.
The Asia-Pacific region is once again likely to be the main driver
behind increasing worldwide demand for passenger cars in 2014.
The growth trend in new registrations should hold up thanks
to China’s still comparatively low vehicle density and rising
demand for mobility. However, it is unlikely that the unexpect-
edly dynamic performance of 2013 will be emulated. In India,
we believe demand will match the previous year’s level, while
the Japanese car market is likely to contract significantly.
// MOTORCYCLE MARKET
For 2014 we expect to see a slight rise in demand for motorcy-
cles in the motorcycle markets that are relevant for the Ducati
brand. Growth will probably be driven by the emerging markets,
above all thanks to their dynamic economies and high replace-
ment demand for motorcycles there. We expect demand to
remain steady in the established markets. The development of
new registrations in the southern countries of Europe is likely to
be no better than subdued due to the persistently restrained
consumer climate in those countries and the economic chal-
lenges that they face.
/ OVERALL ASSESSMENT OF THE ANTICIPATED
DEVELOPMENT OF THE AUDI GROUP
The Audi Group believes that global economic growth will con-
tinue with somewhat increased momentum in 2014, despite
continuing economic uncertainty. From our perspective, the
main challenges for the automotive industry, and therefore also
for the Audi Group, are above all the heterogeneous character
of the economic environment and the difficulty in predicting it.
The trend towards alternative drive technologies and new
mobility concepts is also of significance. In addition, in many
markets we expect to encounter intense competition in 2014
similar to that of last year. Among its strategic objectives, the
Audi Group practices value-oriented corporate management.
It is steadily defining and implementing measures designed
to protect and increase the Company’s international competi-
tiveness. The Board of Management considers the Audi Group to
be well equipped to handle future challenges effectively and
maintain its course of qualitative growth over the coming years.
// ANTICIPATED DEVELOPMENT OF DELIVERIES
The goal – originally envisaged for 2015 – of delivering over
1.5 million vehicles of the Audi brand worldwide was already
easily exceeded in the past fiscal year, two years ahead of
schedule. In 2014, we aim to continue our dynamic growth
worldwide and expect a significant increase in deliveries. We
are planning to increase our market share in numerous major
sales markets, and thus further extend our strong competitive
position in the premium segment worldwide.
In Western Europe, deliveries of the Audi brand should be
slightly above the previous year’s level despite the still chal-
lenging market environment. In Central and Eastern Europe,
by contrast, we are planning substantial growth, driven mainly
by dynamic deliveries for the Audi brand in the Russian market.
For the North America sales region too, we expect volume
growth to remain strong. Especially in the United States, we
want to benefit from the expansion of our exclusive dealer
network and from actively marketing high-performance, effi-
cient diesel models. We plan to further consolidate our leading
position in the Chinese premium market in 2014 by significantly
increasing deliveries.