HA, HA, HA, HA
... maybe I shouldn't be laughing. When Mr. Bungle is done with BMW this may very well happen
By Jeff Green
New York, April 10 (Bloomberg) -- Volkswagen AG's Audi luxury division has set a goal of selling more than 200,000 cars a year in the U.S. within a decade and passing Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, the unit's top U.S. executive said.
``I see Mercedes, I see Lexus, they're left and right. But right in the cross hairs is BMW,'' said Len Hunt, vice president in charge of Audi of America, in an interview in New York. ``Fill the product holes with the right cars and we'll do the rest.''
The Ingolstadt, Germany-based unit of Europe's largest carmaker plans to spend 11.5 billion euros ($10.1 billion) from this year to 2006 to develop vehicles, up from 8.69 billion euros in the previous five years. Audi's U.S. sales in the first quarter rose 2.9 percent to 20,052 cars, while BMW sold 54,392 cars and light trucks, a 16 percent gain.
``BMW is not sitting still,'' said Arndt Ellinghorst, an analyst at WestLB Panmure in Germany. ``I believe that under the new Audi management the push for new product is under way, but it will take time. Audi can get to 200,000 in the U.S., but BMW will have moved past that.''
Volkswagen's new chief executive officer, Bernd Pischetsrieder, is committing more resources to Audi, which will help the division gain on BMW, said Ellinghorst, who rates Volkswagen an ``underperform'' and BMW an ``outperform.''
By 2006, Audi is expected to sell 90,000 cars in the U.S., according to Grand Rapids, Michigan-based IRN Inc., which provides forecasts for auto suppliers. IRN expects BMW sales to grow to 334,650 cars and light trucks by that year.
Audi now sells A4, A6 and A8 cars, the TT sports car and the Allroad Quattro station wagon in the U.S. The unit is discussing new products such as a sport-utility vehicle based on the Volkswagen Magellan, Hunt said.
The division also is expanding its dealership network in states such as Florida and California, he said.
Volkswagen's shares rose 34 cents to 57.60 euros. They have gained 11 percent in the past year.
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P.S. Audi sold 83,283 cars in the US in 2001, BMW did 213,127, they have some catching up to do.
Where's that dismiss Bangle petition ?
Volkswagen's Audi Sets Goal of Passing BMW in U.S.
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