1. New products
Audi has not launched a major new model in years. While Mercedes has a whole range of all-electric cars on the market such as the EQS, EQS SUV, GLE and GLE SUV and BMW has the iX, i4 and i7, the market launch of the Q6 E-tron, the first of a new generation of Audi battery-electric cars, has been continually postponed, largely because the delays at VW Group’s Cariad software subsidiary.
Doellner needs to ensure that the 20 new models — half of them full-electric cars — it plans to launch by 2025 are launched on time. As customers switch to EVs in increasing numbers, the brand’s sales of combustion engine cars will suffer. Bringing structure to what Doellner’s predecessor Markus Duesmann called the “largest model offensive in the company’s history” is an absolute priority.
2. U.S. plant decision
Western companies are seeking to reduce their reliance on China, which makes the U.S., the world’s second-largest car market; important. Here, Audi must catch up.
Last year, Mercedes sold 350,949 cars in the U.S., BMW sold 332,388, while Audi sold just 186,875. Tesla’s sales in its home market amounted to 491,000 cars. It is not yet clear whether Audi will build its own plant in the U.S., which would offer significant advantages, especially on tariffs. Doellner needs to decide soon because it will take years before production begins. Duesmann had recently announced an imminent decision on Audi’s U.S. production. Now it’s up to Doellner.
3. Making Audi respected again
Audi is not only behind its competitors BMW and Mercedes in model launches and sales. It also lags in customer perception as a premium brand. Audi is known for its good quality but, in other areas, it has not made its mark for a long time.
In China, Audi is increasingly perceived as a “civil servant’s car,” not as real competition for BMW and Mercedes. The rivals from Munich and Stuttgart are also ahead of Audi technologically. When BMW presents its Neue Klasse (New Class) software-led electric platform at the IAA auto show in Munich in September, the gap will become even greater for the time being. Doellner needs to position Audi more aggressively as a rival of BMW and Mercedes.
