Jeremy Hicks: leading Audi model expansion

Jeremy Hicks explains Audi’s progress

I got a chance to catch up with Jeremy Hicks, the director of Audi, on my way to drive the new Audi A5 Cabriolet. And, lucky me, the new Audi R8 5.2 – the V10!

Jeremy explained that, although the car market was 30% down, Audi was still performing better than the market. And that it would continue to invest €2 billion globally in new product over the next year to ensure future success.

Audi certainly seems to be a popular brand with small businesses. It’s a premium marque, yet understated. So there’s no flashiness involved. No pejorative overtones that might be involved with, say, a BMW or a Mercedes – good those these brands are with some very fine motor cars.

Jeremy, naturally, had his own take on the matter.

“I think the success of Audi can be put down to three things. The first, is strength of the product. There are new silhouettes arriving from Audi all the time. The second is brand reputation – we’re firmly established as a premium player. And the third is the dealer network. We’ve been working with the people in the Audi Centres to deliver a better customer experience.”

So there you have it – from the horse’s mouth, so to speak. What’s your experience of Audi Centres? Did it live up to your expectations?

One of the new cars that we will be seeing is a small SUV – the Q3. It’s part of the Audi product expansion that Jeremy mentioned earlier. Audi expects to have over 40 models within six years.

The new Audi Q3 SUV will join the line-up in 2011. And slots in below the five-seat Q5 and the seven-seat Q7. Before then, though, there’s plenty more to come. Like the A4 allroad and the A5 Cabriolet. And, for those lucky 150 customers this year, the 525PS R8 V10.