4.1. Sales forecast
Around 950,000 Audi cars delivered to customers worldwide.Sales chief Schwarzenbauer: “Audi is Europe’s most successful premium brand.”Audi has clearly exceeded the sales forecast that had already been upgraded in the course of last year, selling 949,700 cars worldwide. Overall sales for 2011 were thus only 5.4 percent down on the record-breaking figure for 2010 (2010: 1,003,469 vehicle deliveries). Rupert Stadler, Chairman of the Board of Management of AUDI AG, interprets this as a sign of the Audi brand’s strength: “We are making a lively start 2013 and aim to deliver one million cars again.” Audi sold a further 79,300 cars in December – a fall of just 4.2 percent on the corresponding month of the previous year.
In November 2011 Audi had upgraded its sales forecast from an original 900,000 to 925,000 vehicle deliveries. One of the main factors which led to this figure ultimately being bettered was the impressive sales performance in China. The sales total in China (incl. Hong Kong) in 2009 was 158,941 premium cars (2010: 119,598 cars), 32.9 percent more than in the previous year. In December, Audi achieved sales growth of 75.6 percent in China.
In the United States, Audi of America experienced a downturn of 5.7 percent over the year as a whole, with 82,716 vehicles sold. In December, Audi sold 9,030 cars in that market, an increase of 17.1 percent on the same month of the previous year (2008: 7,712 cars).
In Europe, sales of the premium brand fell by 12.8 percent in 2009. Peter Schwarzenbauer, Member of the Board of Management for Marketing and Sales at AUDI AG, commented: “That is a very good tally compared with our competitors. With deliveries to customers totaling around 618,850, we are taking the lead as Europe’s strongest premium brand.” Vehicle deliveries for December in this region were 22.8 percent down on the record figure in the corresponding month of the previous year (44,100 cars; 2008: 57,156 cars). In the home market Germany, Audi recorded sales of 228,844 units (-11.3 percent; 2008: 258,111 cars); the total for December was 17,565 (-31.6 percent; 2008: 25,667 cars).[11]
5.0.Controls
The purpose of Audi marketing plan is to serve as a guide for the organization. The following areas will be monitored to gauge performance.
• Revenue :annual and monthly
• Expenses: quarterly
• Customer satisfaction
• New product development
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