Audi’s U.S. sales increased by nearly 16 percent in 2011, but Audi of America President Johan de Nysschen contends the brand could have done even better had it not been for tight supplies.
Audi’s U.S. sales climbed 15.7 percent to 117,561 units last year, far outpacing the overall market’s increase of 10.2 percent. Although most executives would be ecstatic with that kind of growth, de Nysschen feels as though Audi left as many as 8,000 sales on the table.
“We’ve been struggling to keep up with demand for the last two and a half years,” de Nysschen told WardsAuto. “There is no doubt in my mind we lost some business last year. Frankly, I would say we probably could have done 125,000 units with normal inventory.”
Audi’s overall U.S. supply averaged about 30-days during 2011, but popular models like Audi’s Q5 and Q7 SUVs averaged just 12-14-days supply. De Nysschen explains that those low levels meant there were virtually no vehicles in inventory throughout the entire year.
“The time it takes to get the cars off the boat, to clear customs, to get on to trucks and to dealers all over the country, that’s 11 days. If you have a 12-day supply, that means the cars are basically just running through,” he said.
A weaker European market should free up some extra units for the U.S. market, but de Nysschen cautions that suppliers are also facing similar production constraints. However, Audi is still calling for a strong 2012, with U.S. sales expected to total 130,500 units.
