German Car Zone

EnI · 02-01-2007, 06:23 PM

Guys, do you really think Audi cars will always look same as today?

It's time to move on ...

Iceman · 02-03-2007, 07:42 AM

Here is a rendering of DeLusi/Larson-Autozeitung that i also like.

Hans.

Tumbo · 02-03-2007, 09:10 AM

Hehe, that last one looks like a VW Polo rendering

Just_me · 02-18-2007, 05:11 PM

Audi A1: Officially confirmed!

The Audi A1 was now finally and officially confirmed by Rupert Stadler, Audi's new head. But it will be named differently!

Audi is expecting to sell around 100.000 cars per year of the new small Audi starting from 2009. The entry-level Audi will be produced in Brussels if the conditions will fit.

Read the breaking news here, Google-translated. Really great news, love to see the car!

Related news: GermanCarBlog, P4MR, Audi A1

Source: Reuters, picture by Autobild

Deutsch · 02-19-2007, 01:14 AM

taken straight from Reuters:

Quote:

Reuters

Audi returns to beat rivals by 2015 -CEO in paper
Fri Feb 16, 2007 2:01 PM ET

FRANKFURT, Feb 16 (Reuters) - The new head of Volkswagen's <VOWG.DE> premium unit Audi AG <NSUG.DE> aims to surpass the brand's rivals in terms of profitability by 2015, he said in an interview with the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.

"Our target is to earn a return above that of all our competitors in 2015," Chief Executive Rupert Stadler said in remarks published in advance of the paper's Saturday edition.

The manager, who also serves as finance chief for the unit, forecast vehicles sales would grow to 1.5 million by that year from a current 900,000 units.

"But volume is not everything. By then revenue per vehicle should increase and also the return on sales (RoS) and investment (RoI)," he said, adding that its return on sales would achieve the targeted 8 percent mark earlier than 2008 as originally planned.

The manager of Ferdinand Piech's office for five years when Volkswagen Chairman Piech still served as CEO, Stadler said he would continue implementing the strategy of his predecessor, Martin Winterkorn, who now serves as head of Volkswagen.

The new Audi CEO anticipates selling more than 100,000 units of the upcoming A1 subcompact that is expected to be built in Brussels, and disputed speculation that the brand's smallest car could act as a drag on profitability.

"A subcompact must not necessarily have a low margin. A return on sales of 8 percent is possible through the use of group synergies," he said, mentioning also that the car was not expected to threaten sales of the comparable VW Polo.

Stadler dismissed suggestions that Audi should build a factory in the United States, where rivals BMW <BMWG.DE> and Mercedes-Benz <DCXGn.DE> each have a factory in the south, in order to reduce currency risks when exporting to the world's largest car market.

"We will think about that when we build more than 1.2 million cars. We feel very comfortable with our (U.S.) dollar hedges through 2007. We're also well hedged for 2008," the Audi CEO said.

He lashed out at the German Green party's parliamentary group leader, Renate Kuenast, for calling on Germans to buy hybrid cars from Japanese rival Toyota <7203.T> that emit less carbon dioxide.

"That really angered me ... I would be happy if our politicians would stand clearly behind the (German car) industry," he said.

I wonder if the A1 will be exported to the U.S.??? If it came equipped w/ Quattro std. it could prove a hit for Audi in stealing Mini customers.

Bartek Sikorski · 06-01-2007, 10:58 PM

Audi A1 will succeed the not so famous Audi A2 competing against rival MINI Cooper and the forthcoming Alfa Romeo Junior in the premium mini sector. To keep the development and construct costs low, the A1 will have a steel body using the VW Polo / Skoda Fabia / Seat Ibiza platform.
We think that Audi will equip the A1 with 1.4TSI (122 and 140Hp) and 1.8 TSFI (170Hp) petrol engines (the later probably with an S1 badge) along with a 2.0TDI available in 140 and 170Hp versions.
4wheelsblog.com - Car Reviews, Car Shows, Spy photos, Auto news, New cars

Yannis · 06-01-2007, 11:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Deutsch

I wonder if the A1 will be exported to the U.S.??? If it came equipped w/ Quattro std. it could prove a hit for Audi in stealing Mini customers.

The A1 will be available only as a FWD just like the Mini.

Bartek Sikorski · 06-01-2007, 11:45 PM

Deutsch · 06-01-2007, 11:50 PM

Audi should be able to pull that off without a hitch, given how well they have done w/ the TT 2.0T FWD. However I think this car will truly have the time of its life defeating the Mini both dynamically and in sales. The Mini is an icon as both a car and a brand, while the A1 is an all new model that has to prove itself with the public and the class best. There's always a chance Audi could pull a hat trick, but those kinds of occurrences in this industry are rare. Besides that this will be just another version of a generic, mass produced platform, something that will forever deprive Audi the status of an individual player in this coveted league of autonomous auto industry players (MB + BMW). At the same time Audi makes some of the best cars in the industry in more ways than one, they just need to step up their level of consistency in delivering highly competitive products, segment by segment.

EnI · 06-02-2007, 05:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yannis

The A1 will be available only as a FWD just like the Mini.

There will soone be an AWD MINI.

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German Car Zone

New Audi A1.