@waleed80.
I am sure Audi's are popular in Germany. Thats not what I am talking about..check this out.......Audi is not a "Tier 1" brand, its a "Tier 2" brand.
"Audi is looking to compete and be seen as a player that is, in every sense of the term, equal to Mercedes-Benz and BMW," said Matt Stone, an editor with Motor Trend magazine. "Audi is so close," he said.
What it needs now is some exposure, all the better if it's with well-known celebrities at the wheel. One plan is feature Audi cars in more "product placement" spots as the company did with the movie "I, Robot."
Audi now sells its cars for about four percent less than BMW and Mercedes, according to a Reuters report. The company plans to gradually raise prices as its brand image improves.
Still, not everyone sees Audi as that close to real stardom, just yet.
In spite of its technological prowess and improved quality, Audi is still a "Tier 2" luxury brand, said Joe Barker, an analyst with CSM Automotive, an auto market research firm.
"Tier 1" brands, those with real cachet, are BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Lexus. The inclusion of Lexus, a division of Toyota (Charts) that didn't exist a few decades ago, shows that it is possible to break through.
Still, said Barker, Audi, seen by most Americans as Volkswagen's "Lexus," is down there with Acura, Infiniti and General Motors' (Charts) Cadillac as a car that says you've almost arrived. But it's no BMW.
The R8 will help it break through that last stretch to the kind of image, Audi executives hope, the brand really deserves.
