Audi focuses on SUVs to overtake BMW

LONDON: Audi is focusing its efforts this year on its new SUVs range from the compact Q2 to the full-size Q8.
The company believes that this segment is likely to push it to exceed BMW as the number one premium brand.
After falling to third place behind Mercedes-Benz last year, Audi is seeking to reignite flagging growth and overcome the emissions scandal that tarnished the image of its parent company Volkswagen.
Audi, which struggled last year because it had the oldest lineup among the three competitors, aims to regain an edge in 2016 by introducing new cars as BMW’s offerings age.
“The competition with our rivals will remain a neck-and-neck race,” Dietmar Voggenreiter, Audi sales chief, said in an interview at the company’s headquarters in Ingolstadt, Germany.
“We should get a tailwind from our new models.”
Audi has revealed its compact Q2 at the Geneva auto show this week.
The SUV will become the brand’s smallest crossover and is aimed at a younger audience. 
With the little Q2, Audi has zeroed in on a segment BMW and Mercedes haven’t touched.
The car is designed to lure young city dwellers who require less space than in the larger Q3 sister model.