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Article Excerpt
Byline: Diana T. Kurylko, David Sedgwick
Audi of America has improved its quality and is heading for breakeven this year. But the brand is still not where Johan de Nysschen, executive vice president in charge of Audi of America Inc., wants it to be.
Audi launches its first SUV, the seven-passenger Q7, this year. A smaller SUV, the Q5, is due in the coming years. The brand also is scheduled to get two sports cars. The vehicles are expected to help Audi grow and perhaps reach a long-term target of 200,000 annual unit sales in the United States.
But de Nysschen also wants Audi's dealers to be profitable. He is working on increasing their margins and making it less expensive for them to invest in new facilities.
De Nysschen was interviewed at the New York auto show last month by Staff Reporter Diana T. Kurylko and Editor David Sedgwick.
What kind of growth is there for luxury cars? What is driving it - demographics and the boomers who are reaching their peak spending years?
It is one of the drivers of the market. The level of affluence is rising. Then you have the economic cycle, and the long-term trend is up.
Even in Europe, in the middle sector of the market where our A4 and A6 are positioned, those sectors are increasingly being dominated by premium brands. Ford and General Motors have completely vacated that segment. You will find the...
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