fzanetti Posted February 23, 2006 Share Posted February 23, 2006 http://www.autoweek.com/graphics/aw_spacer.gif myprof= "Latest News"; if (myprof != "") { document.write('| Latest News | '); } http://www.autoweek.com/graphics/aw_spacer.gifhttp://cwimg.us.publicus.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=CW&Date=20060206&Category=FREE&ArtNo=60203007&Ref=AR&Profile=1024&MaxW=490 An artist’s concept of what an Audi Q3 might look like if derived from an Audi A3 Sportback. Audi to build Q5 SUV, Q3 may be next Brand’s product expansion includes creating a line of SUVs http://www.autoweek.com/graphics/aw_spacer.gif By JASON STEIN | AUTOMOTIVE NEWS http://www.autoweek.com/graphics/aw_spacer.gifAutoWeek | Published 02/03/06, 3:51 pm et PHOENIX, Arizona, USA – Audi will add a small premium SUV called the Q5 by 2008. The carmaker also is considering an entry-level SUV called the Q3. Ulrich Hackenberg, Audi’s head of concept development, confirmed a five-seat Q5 is in Audi’s immediate plans.“I think we need a Q5 and we will have it,” Hackenberg said at a press event here. Hackenberg said the Q5 will be positioned against the BMW X3 premium SUV and will be sold in both Europe and the US. It likely will be based on the A4 sedan. Hackenberg said Audi is discussing the possibility of adding a Q3 SUV, but has not made a final decision. Audi exhibited the Steppenwolf, a small, three-door SUV concept, at the Paris auto show in 2000. That vehicle featured all-wheel drive and was powered by a 225hp, 3.2-liter V-6 engine. If built, the Q3 would be similar in size to the Golf SUV planned for 2007 by Audi parent Volkswagen. A Q3 would give Audi a three-SUV lineup. Its first, the Q7, was introduced last autumn. The Q7 shares a platform with the Volkswagen Touareg and Porsche Cayenne and is built in Bratislava, Slovakia. Audi is adding new models in a product offensive aimed at doubling its annual global sales to 1.5 million units by 2015. Last year, Audi sold 829,100 vehicles globally, up from 779,441 units in 2004. Q7 In Demand Audi upping production to meet huge demand for Q7 SUV in Europe http://www.autoweek.com/graphics/aw_spacer.gif By AUTOMOTIVE NEWS http://www.autoweek.com/graphics/aw_spacer.gifAutoWeek | Published 02/21/06, 3:35 pm et http://www.autoweek.com/graphics/aw_spacer.gif OAS_RICH('Middle1'); <script language="JavaScript" type="text/javascript"> document.write('<a href="http://oas-central.realmedia.com/RealMedia/ads/click_lx.ads/www.autoweek.com/news/latest_news/60221017/391545390/Middle1/crain/AWO_CASTROLGTX_300X250_ROS_0206/castrol_300x250.html/30633966393437393433653866323630?391545390" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://view.atdmt.com/MRK/view/twkxxgtx0030000005mrk/direct/01/391545390" /></a>'); </script> <noscript> <a href="http://oas-central.realmedia.com/RealMedia/ads/click_lx.ads/www.autoweek.com/news/latest_news/60221017/391545390/Middle1/crain/AWO_CASTROLGTX_300X250_ROS_0206/castrol_300x250.html/30633966393437393433653866323630?391545390" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://view.atdmt.com/MRK/view/twkxxgtx0030000005mrk/direct/01/391545390" /></a> </noscript> PHOENIX, Arizona, USA – Audi has an enviable problem. It can’t build its first SUV fast enough to meet demand. Audi said it has 11,000 orders in Europe for its premium SUV – more than five times the German carmaker’s initial forecast. Now the automaker is scrambling to figure out how to increase production at its plant in Bratislava, Slovakia. Audi executives said they anticipated 2,000 initial orders. “But we have so many orders, we are trying to figure out how to get production higher,” said Audi Chairman Martin Winterkorn at a recent press event here for the Q7. “The interest so far has surprised us.” Boosting outputTo alleviate the backlog, Audi engineers said they will try to increase production efficiency at the plant by designating one shift that will handle complicated or unusual orders. Audi will continue to build the Q7 on three shifts but will reschedule the type of orders that are filled on each shift until it catches up with demand. For example, Q7 orders that are loaded with uncommon option packages and take longer to build because they are more complex slow the speed of the line, Audi said. Those orders will be grouped together on one shift, Audi said. Less complex orders would take up the bulk of the shifts for the short-term. “We have some tricks we can use to squeeze out more units,” said Frank van Meel, Audi’s head of technical development for the Q7, in an interview with Automotive News Europe. “We didn’t expect [demand] to be that high. It is a good problem to have.” Another way Audi might boost production is to reduce workers’ vacation time, van Meel said. The Audi line is producing 300 Q7s a day on three shifts. The Volkswagen Touareg and Porsche Cayenne also are built in Bratislava, but on different assembly lines. Worldwide, Audi expected to orders for between 50,000 and 70,000 Q7s this year. Said van Meel: “That is probably much too low.” Just a comparison to our line of XUV's.... Flavio ZanettiBoston, MA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jedi Pimp Posted February 23, 2006 Share Posted February 23, 2006 Great the germans have been GMCized!!! What is happening to the car drivers in this country lately... It seems all Americans want is SUVs no matter how dinky and turdlike they appear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
agctr Posted February 23, 2006 Share Posted February 23, 2006 Personally I think its a great thing that AUDI are now targeting their own German friends BMW and MB. This will only strengthen price competition and hopefully drive prices down or at worst, keep them constant. Ada///M. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fzanetti Posted February 24, 2006 Author Share Posted February 24, 2006 Damn, that's exactly why they are trying to build those platforms, I really wish we had the A2 in the States, nice sweet looking car heheeheheheh to compete with Mini Couper and MB A-Class... Flavio Zanetti Boston, MA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IwannaSportSedan Posted February 24, 2006 Share Posted February 24, 2006 Since when does the auto industry (or any) work on what would be good for the consumer. The market has said SUV for a decade or more. So the planner's and executive's brains are stuck, tunnel-visioned, on "SUV". Never mind that SUVs are Soooo 2004. Seriously. when will people figure out that offering 5 different variations of every SUV possible, but two measily coupe offerings, or less... isn't forward looking, but backward-looking. I want a practical GT sport coupe with reverse half doors and a hatch back, AWD, and a turbocharged, manual-trans, AWD drivetrain. BAD. Something modern, fast, and good looking, like a new Legacy; with the sleekness and unique quality of the SVX, with the utility of rear doors, a hatch, and folding rear seats to a flat floor. A 4-door sedan with fold down seats (07 Legacy, FTW) will have to do. (I am sure it will be great, and a lot of fun ) Audi SUVs... Almost as pointless as a Mercedes SUV. Not quite as insane as a Porsche SUV. Buy a damn Suburban, Jeep, or Land Rover if you need a SUV for a SUV reason. At least hopefully the new Audi halo coupe will be nice... But there again, VAG quality issues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
agctr Posted February 24, 2006 Share Posted February 24, 2006 So 2004 ?????? Mate U are LOSING IT. They said when the Porsche Cayenne was on the design table that it missed the SUV boat by 3 years and that was like in 2001. AUDI have always had BIG cars just never pumped up off the ground. Personally I still think there is a massive market for SUV's but as you can tell, the SUV market is demanding more and more power, hence the engines companies like BMW 4.4L, MB 5.5LK , Porsche 4.5L and now Subaru 3.0L H6T are putting in. Ada///M. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmarton Posted February 24, 2006 Share Posted February 24, 2006 Fools! Destroy them all! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IwannaSportSedan Posted February 25, 2006 Share Posted February 25, 2006 So 2004 ?????? Mate U are LOSING IT. They said when the Porsche Cayenne was on the design table that it missed the SUV boat by 3 years and that was like in 2001. AUDI have always had BIG cars just never pumped up off the ground. Personally I still think there is a massive market for SUV's but as you can tell, the SUV market is demanding more and more power, hence the engines companies like BMW 4.4L, MB 5.5LK , Porsche 4.5L and now Subaru 3.0L H6T are putting in. Ada///M. Big SUVs are taking a hit in the american market now. They have been "talked about" getting less popular for years... but they are actually starting to seriously fall off. The recent 3$+ Gasoline during the rapid-fire hurricane season last fall has really taken a bite. And in the US, the Ford Explorer, Chevrolet Suburban, and other domestics and smaller imports are much bigger sellers (and falling harder) than BMW, MB, or Porsche. Lux-items like those are less susceptible, and slower to react to the market. More power is ALWAYS in fashion, almost regardless of vehicle format. But SUVs have given up some of the limelight at recent car shows to some new car concepts. A few years ago, there were hardly ANY coupe concept cars, let alone sedan concepts. NAIAS and european shows have new american Muscle cars, and of course the new Civic is being touted everywhere... The thing is, performance cars haven't really gone OUT of fashion in Oz. They haven't been well represented in the US for the past half decade or more, and are starting to come back. 350Z came back, RX8 took a new direction, and Mustang got a big re-design. But now now BMW has 6-series, and z4 coupe, Porsche is bringing the Cayman, and Audi is bringing a revised TT, and a new V10 coupe. VW is rumored to be bringing the Corrado/Scirocco format back. MSP6, IS300, and the regular crew of sport sedans are getting more attention lately as well. (although the Legacy could stand a tad more press...) GM is having to bring out 2007 new SUVs early to try and capitalize. The new Explorer and upcoming SportTrac are going to try to do the same, although the Explorer particularly is floundering, while it has done well for a long time before. As I have said before, they'll never completely go away, but they are certainly not selling as well as they have in the recent past. Small/Midsize SUVs aren't doing as badly as full-sized ones because they are being pitched as the cooler alternative to minivan haulers. I have been waiting for the SUV deadlock to lift, and it is starting to. I hope some more nice new CARs can come about as companies aren't completely consumed by SUV designs. But it still has a bit further to go. BTW... has the Subaru 3.0T H6 been confirmed? Perhaps I have missed a thread here, somewhere... but all I remember hearing is that the 3.0T is NOT coming to the US (subaru's biggest market, ESPECIALLY for the Tribeca.) due to *damned* emissions issues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
agctr Posted February 25, 2006 Share Posted February 25, 2006 Still in the mixer IWSS re the 3.0L T. Nothing confirmed but from all accounts, SOA want it and want it bad. Ada///M. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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