While BMW and Mercedes-Benz, the traditional elite of German luxury car making, have been gentlemanly rivals for the past half century, an upstart from Ingolstadt (an outpost of Munich, as BMW bosses were once quick to point out) has been discreetly overtaking both of them.
Audi, once an insignificant brand within the vast Daimler-Benz empire, and with no meaningful heritage before the 80s, now outsells its German rivals in both Europe (including Britain) and China, the world's fastest growing (and biggest) luxury car market. Some analysts predict it may soon overtake BMW as the world's most successful premium car company.
In the 1930s, Audi was part of the Auto Union car making conglomerate. Unlike Mercedes-Benz and BMW, it was based in Eastern Germany and, after the war, the Russians expropriated its assets.
Eventually, Auto Union was reborn in Ingolstadt, a city better known for a fictional monster than any motoring factory — it was the setting of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. Daimler-Benz eventually bought Auto Union but showed little interest in its products — mostly utilitarian two‐stroke baby cars. Volkswagen took over the auto orphan in 1964 and a decade later, it began its quest to position Audi as the VW Group's premium brand.
While Mercedes was making its stately saloons for politicians and plutocrats, and BMW was forging its reputation among the upwardly mobile, Audi made tinselled Volkswagen saloons for conservative folk who couldn't afford a luxury car but wanted a bit more brightwork than that offered by the mainstream makers.
Then Ferdinand Piech, one of the Volkswagen Group's most talented engineers — and grandson of Ferdinand Porsche — became lord of the rings. His strategy was simple: produce mould-breaking cars. A series of seminal machines followed — the four-wheel drive Quattro coupé, the air-cleaving 100 saloon, the TT sports car, the aluminium-bodied A2 and the Porsche 911-rivalling R8.
Audis won world rally championships and Le Mans. They became famed for their tasteful architectural designs, less showy than BMW, more sparkling than Mercedes. Audi built the best—crafted interiors in the car industry (and still do). In the mid 90s, Audis ceased to be sold in the brown—carpeted corners of VW dealerships and became a stand-alone brand.
Importantly for Audi's profitability, it has the resources and purchasing power of Europe's biggest car maker. Many Audi components (mostly hidden) are shared with Volkswagen and other VW—owned brands.
There are downsides to sharing components across a range of cars, of course. Audis seldom enjoy the agility or driving élan that are usually part of the BMW ownership experience. They rarely ride as serenely as a good Mercedes. But they are dynamically competent. One million buyers last year (and growing) said so.
The latest impressive Audi is the newest A6 executive saloon. It subscribes to the familiar Audi template: conservative but exquisitely detailed exterior, beautifully finished cabin, comfortable if slightly anodyne driving experience.
It will doubtless appeal globally, including in China, where sales of all European premium cars — especially German ones — boom. But Audi has a particular advantage over rivals in China, where it was the first premium foreign maker to build cars. Namely, it is the favoured upmarket transport of the world's biggest fleet buyer. The Chinese government has long preferred Audis as business cars for its bureaucrats.
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