Mercedes Outsells Audi for the 1st Time This Year

[KillerHERTZ]

Mercedes finally outsells Audi for first time this year​

The big news out of Stuttgart this week is Daimler's announcement that Mercedes-Benz overtook Audi, and recaptured second place in luxury vehicle sales for the month of May. Although 6,500 more Mercedes models were purchased instead of Audi units last month, Audi has still sold over 12,000 more vehicles year-to-date.

Mercedes-Benz had been mired in third place since January, when a surge in Audi sales catapulted the brand. Audi held on to second for four consecutive months.

Executives at Mercedes may be even more pleased that they came this/close to overtaking the top spot. BMW sold just 375 more units than those emblazoned with the three-pointed star.

Daimler credits growth in China, where sales more than doubled compared to May 2009. The company sold 11,500 vehicles last month in China, up from 5,200 a year earlier. The company says high global demand for E-class and S-class cars, which improved by 39 and 41 percent respectively, also helped improve sales figures.

"This excellent sales result keeps us on course for a strong second quarter, in which we will post double-digit growth," sales and marketing executive Joachim Schmidt said in a written statement.

 

[Sonny Burnett]

whats a audi

 

[Michael G]

whats a audi

A VW with a posh badge. :bannana:

 

[Deleted member 37751]

A VW with a posh badge. :bannana:

Don't you mean Skoda

 

[flango]

whats a audi

A NA V8 that will whip the ass off any MB V8 with sub 5 second 0-60 mph

 

[trapperjohn]

Farmers from Yorkshire like their Audi's. They call 'em "ow'doo" not Audi though.

Now I know you have one, its very nice - If you need a quick car for a bank job!! As a daily runner - not so sure.

See you Sunday - Flak jacket at the ready

 

[Sp!ke]

Does that mean that the Audi Drivers (the ones that have emigrated from BMW) have now gone and bought into the Mercedes Marque?

Does it follow that no Mercedes models will remain on the cool wall?

 

[Deleted member 37751]

A VW with a posh badge. :bannana:

Or a Seat.... Who knows, but either way I think with the new generation of Mercedes are on to a winner. In my opinion this is because they are aiming at a younger market, where they can breed brand loyalty. I have had two Audis(A6 2.5TDI, A6 2.7 TDI) and had quite an easy ride with the first, but the 2.7 was a nightmare. Then three years ago I ventured into the Mercedes domain and have never looked back- no electrical, bodywork or mechanical problems whatsoever.

 

[moonloops]

Farmers from Yorkshire like their Audi's. They call 'em "ow'doo" not Audi though.

Now I know you have one, its very nice - If you need a quick car for a bank job!! As a daily runner - not so sure.

See you Sunday - Flak jacket at the ready

Funny that as farmers in Yorkshire call Subarus - zoobroos

 

[grober]

AUDI are experiencing major component supply problems with consequent long order fulfilment delays. Its possible that Mercedes "overtaking" AUDI may actually Audi "slowing down" rather than Mercedes speeding up. Still its "an ill wind " as the marketing copy writers would say.

 

[Rory]

AUDI are experiencing major component supply problems with consequent long order fulfilment delays. Its possible that Mercedes "overtaking" AUDI may actually Audi "slowing down" rather than Mercedes speeding up. Still its "an ill wind " as the marketing copy writers would say.

The story relates to May. Not sure what happened that month but Audi are usually way ahead of MB in the UK - the last few months have been pretty poor for MB UK.

 

[gIzzE]

i have had so dozens of Audis, really like the design of them, quite bland and understated, but ultimately they always disappoint. They are always quit bland to drive too, which is not really what you want from a car.

If you want something fun you buy a BMW, if you want something relaxed you buy a Merc, you buy an Audi as it doesn't offend and nothing more. And even that is changing.

 

[st4]

If you want something fun you buy a BMW, if you want something relaxed you buy a Merc, you buy an Audi as it doesn't offend and nothing more. And even that is changing.

And quite drastically. An Audi is about the most offensive of the cars to buy. Every bit as flash if not more so than a BMW or Merc.

A pals facebook status tells me an interesting though, one of her pals BFs went and bought an Impreza and she said he should have got a decent car like a "BMW or Audi". The word Mercedes not mentioned.

BMWs with their quest of efficiency are now not making such "dynamic" cars to drive. The F10 gets a lacklustre review for its dynamics but for comfort and efficiency its the one to get.

Audi sticks with FWD and AWD, and are built in a manner that makes them nose heavy with the engine forward of the axle. Safe, but dull. If you want safe and unoffensive, A Skoda Superb estate is the best choice. Fab cars, why anyone would buy a Mondeo when they could get that I do not know.

The newer Mercs, particularly the 212 have been praised for being fun to drive, in Particular Chris Harris of evo magazine rates the current range of the Merc cars steering as the best there is. Having sampled a 204 in action it had a wonderful feed back, and was able to be driven in a rather unmerc like manner, much to my amusements, but to the salesmans horror. Another fine driving car is the XF, build aside, these are good cars, and Id consider one.

For distance, I find the 211 idea. Almost 9hours in mine yesterday, and oh so comfortable, and fun to drive (sport model though).

 

[gIzzE]

I think you summed it up well, I would consider an XF if I didn't need an estate, I am trying to get my old man to try one out to replace his 730d Sport as I think they are cracking value, when you consider they come with leather, auto, bluetooth and nav as standard.

 

[gIzzE]

The cars I have owned over the last couple of years include, and in reverse order...

W211 E320 cdi (current)
Toyota Aygo (current - daughter that is learning to drive soon)
123d m-sport
A6 3.2fsi Quattro Avant
BMW SMG M3
335i sport touring
535d sport touring
Audi S4 avant

And we had a 120d m-sport that saw most of those out at the same time.

The S4 is hand on heart the worst car I have ever owned, I just hated it, and knew I hated it on the 3 hour drive home with it, I felt sick.

The A6 on the other hand was the best Audi I have ever owned, and have had lots, including but not only...A4 3.0 cab, A3 s-line DSG, A4 avant in 1.9tdi and 2.5tdi guise, the last A6 avant, A2 1.4tdi, A4 saloon, and all of them missed a trick somewhere.
They just can't get it right, and I am so surprised at how well they sell, but then I think I have owned 15 Audis so I guess there's my answer.

Problem is, it wasn't until I bought my first BMW that I realised just how good an everyday car could be. I have drifted back to Audi a few times, but it is always short lived, once the new car think has worn off I am looking for something else.
Didn't get that with the 1 series, and haven't had it with the E320cdi.

My old man was also a Merc man, so always had a Merc to drive, but they were always too grown up for me, I am now 37, but at 30 I had no desire to own a Mercedes, the C43 appealed as did the C32, but nothing else, but that is now changing. I would take the E63 estate over the M5 touring, I would probably take the C63 over the M3 and I love my M3's, and the CSL is the only car I regret selling, as I think a C63 estate is a right little weapon. But on 9 points it is a brown mercedes diesel dog carrier for me, and a mighty 1.0 litre 80bhp Aygo!!

 

[st4]

have you ever tried the S6 audi.

It was a good car for the money, and a cracking engine, but somehow left me slightly "cold". It was a wet day, and the AWD traction and secure handling made it real world almight fast, but it was not quite there for me.

Its not a VAG thing, my mate has a GTi Golf and thats a cracking fun wee motor.

 

[Burger]

Guess this means all the 'cocks' are in Mercedes now then or at least emigrating to them?

Quite frankly, as car manufacture has improved over the last decade or so, I personally think there's little to choose between the better perceived marques in terms of build quality and, under 'normal' driving, the driving experience. I put Mercedes, BMW, Audi, VW, Jaguar all in this class. Differences in handling, unless a manufacturer has done something seriously wrong, only become really apparent at extremes and the vast majority will never be anywhere near those extremes. At least for me, a car buying decision is an emotional one rather than a practical one. You buy the car you most want to be seen in, and get the most pleasure from driving for yourself.

Regards,

 

[wemorgan]

6 years ago I had a Mercedes vs Audi decision to make. I was after a small economical car. The diesel A2 and (W168) A-class were on my short list. Subjectively I thought the A2 looked better. They cost the same, had similar engines and spec. But the A2 gave 10mpg more than the A-class, had longer service intervals and was cheaper to tax. So on those grounds I bought the A2.

If I had to make the same decision today I think the W169 would fare better than the W168 vs. the Audi A1 or A3 (not sure which one is comparable).

Back in 2004 Mercedes looked to lag behind in the fuel economy stakes. Today has much really changed, especially when also considering BMW diesels?

 

[gIzzE]

Guess this means all the 'cocks' are in Mercedes now then or at least emigrating to them?

Thanks for that!!!

Quite frankly, as car manufacture has improved over the last decade or so, I personally think there's little to choose between the better perceived marques in terms of build quality and, under 'normal' driving, the driving experience. I put Mercedes, BMW, Audi, VW, Jaguar all in this class. Differences in handling, unless a manufacturer has done something seriously wrong, only become really apparent at extremes and the vast majority will never be anywhere near those extremes. At least for me, a car buying decision is an emotional one rather than a practical one. You buy the car you most want to be seen in, and get the most pleasure from driving for yourself.

Regards,

See I always thought that, but then after buying an E39 528i I realised it was just not the case, it is more about enjoying the drive on day to day journeys that swung it for me.

Same with the S4 vs the 120d, the 120d is a drivers car, the S4 was.......well I better watch my mouth.
The E91 320d which my wife had, forgot about that above, was also an absolute peach to drive, the way you point the steering wheel into a corner and the whole car pivots on its rear end is something only BMW manage to do, apart from people like Porsche, and this is just travelling on a B road at 50mph doing an everyday journey.

I do 40k miles a year, so it is extremely important to me to enjoy the drive.
I bought the E320cdi in June with 60k on it and have just hit 80k miles, which is when I was going to sell it, but I am still liking it too much, so seriously thinking about keeping it for the 4 years I have finance it and putting nearly 250k miles on it, I just need to decided pretty soon.
The Mercedes just seems to have the comfort without feeling boring.

 

[gIzzE]

6 years ago I had a Mercedes vs Audi decision to make. I was after a small economical car. The diesel A2 and (W168) A-class were on my short list. Subjectively I thought the A2 looked better. They cost the same, had similar engines and spec. But the A2 gave 10mpg more than the A-class, had longer service intervals and was cheaper to tax. So on those grounds I bought the A2.

If I had to make the same decision today I think the W169 would fare better than the W168 vs. the Audi A1 or A3 (not sure which one is comparable).

Back in 2004 Mercedes looked to lag behind in the fuel economy stakes. Today has much really changed, especially when also considering BMW diesels?

No.


Mercedes is well behind when it comes to economy.

I had a 330i sport auto for 2 days when our 335i was in BMW. That thing was seriously impressive. 3.0 litre straight six NA engine, with 280bhp and it returned 498 miles on a single tank, averaging 38mpg.
The company C220cdi was no better than that.

Our 320d sport touring was the efficient dynamics auto, and that was incredible, 39mpg round town and on a run it returned unbelievable figures.
Would see 55mpg no problem, and going from our shop in Wymondham to our shop in Sheringham on the North Norfolk coast, you could be sat at 50mph on a lot of journeys and then it would return obscene figures.

This was after 38 miles off slow Norfolk Bank Holiday driving, sat at 50mph all the way.

I am not an MPG junkie, but when my other car was an M3 which I used to see 20mpg from most of the time, it certainly impressed.