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German carmaker Audi's plans to become more profitable than its rivals by 2015 hinges in part on its grabbing a share of the booming supercar segment with its new R8.
The market for supercars is the fastest-growing segment in the automotive industry, according to a study by the
Institute for Automotive Business, a study group in Germany.
It says worldwide sales will grow from an estimated 123,600 units this year to 248,000 units by 2015.
Jens Meier, Audi's head of marketing, says Audi wants to benefit from the boom. "We see the market growing and, of course, our goal is to get some volume from our competitors.
"We also want more buyers in the Audi showroom for other reasons," Meier said at the R8's launch in Las Vegas.
Meier says the R8 is a halo car that will boost Audi's image and attract more people into its dealerships.
The institute says sales of super sports cars have grown by 73 per cent since 2001 while the total market has increased by only 10 per cent.
In its study, titled Challenges and Prospects for the Super Sports Car Market, the institute says Porsche will have the most to lose because of the added competition.
Others carmakers, including BMW and Lexus, are planning models that will be positioned directly against Porsche's 911.
BMW is planning a Z9 in 2010 and Lexus is expected to introduce the LF-A by the end of the decade.
Audi says it has sold out its annual 1000-unit allotment of R8s for Germany until 2009. Globally, Audi plans to sell 4000 units a year.
The two-seater R8 will land in New Zealand in September, priced from $260,000. It is an all-aluminium spaceframe design powered by a mid-mounted 4.2-litre V8 engine delivering 420kW (560bhp) at 7800rpm and 430Nm of torque from 4500 to 6000rpm and driving all four wheels through Audi's quattro system.
It comes with a choice of gearboxes: six-speed manual or a six-speed sequential unit called R-tronic.
Audi says the R8 sprints to 100km/h in 4.6 seconds and on to a top speed of 300km/h (187mph).
Two racebred supercars already available in New Zealand are the Porsche GT3 and Ferrari 599. The GT3 uses a six-cylinder 3.6-litre boxer engine developing 305kW (415bhp) at 7600rpm and sprints to 100km/h in 4.3 seconds. Top speed is 310km/h (192mph).
There are two GT3 models, both equipped with a six-speed manual gearbox. The standard car costs $270,000 and the lightweight RS $310,000.
The Ferrari 599 has aluminium spaceframe technology that is similar to the Audi R8.
It is powered by a 6-litre V12 engine which punches out 455kW (610bhp) at 7600 rpm and gives the car a top speed of 315km/h (195bhp) and a sprint time of 3.7 seconds.
Two models are available here, the six-speed manual for $540,000 and the sequential Formula One Superfast shift for $565,000.
Ferrari sold 5658 cars worldwide last year, a 5 per cent increase on 2005. For the first time, it sold more than 100 cars in Australia and New Zealand.
Audi's aim to become the world's most successful premium brand by 2015 has been helped by its record - sales have risen each year since 1995.
Globally, 905,100 vehicles were delivered to customers last year, up from 829,109 in 2005, representing an increase of 9.2 per cent, or almost 76,000 cars.
A total of 41 markets set sales records, including Germany, France, Spain, Italy, China and the United States. Audi UK recorded a 5.7 per cent increase, reaching a new peak of 86,003 cars, up from 82,496 in 2005 - the sixth year in succession in which it has raised the bar.
The United States is the largest Audi export market, with sales up 8.5 per cent from 83,066 to a record 90,116, followed closely by Britain.
Audi chief executive Rupert Stadler he aims to surpass the brand's rivals in terms of profitability by 2015.
"Our target is to earn a return above that of all our competitors in 2015," he said.
Stadler, who is also the company's finance chief, forecast that Audi sales would grow from the present 900,000 units to 1.5 million by 2015.
"We have not only achieved our eleventh sales record in succession but will also be announcing record levels of revenue and earnings," he said.
"Audi is the fastest-growing premium brand. This puts us well on our way to becoming the most successful premium manufacturer in the world by 2015.
" But volume is not everything. By then, revenue per vehicle should increase and also the return on sales and investment."
Stadler said the return on sales would achieve the targeted 8 per cent mark earlier than 2008 as originally planned.
He expects sales of more than 100,000 units of the A1 small car 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 per cent is possible through the use of group synergies."
Stadler said the A1 was not expected to threaten sales of the comparable VW Polo.
He dismissed suggestions that Audi should build a factory in the United States, where rivals BMW and Mercedes-Benz 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," Stadler said.
"We feel very comfortable with our US dollar hedges through 2007. We're also well hedged for 2008."
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 that emit less carbon dioxide, an exhaust pollutant blamed for global warming.
"That really angered me," Stadler said. "I would be happy if our politicians would stand clearly behind the German car industry."
Further reporting, agencies
