Audi's lofty ambitions

INGOLSTADT // Audi plans to overtake German luxury competitors BMW and Mercedes by 2010 despite the European car market slumping. "We are reinforcing our positions while others are losing ground," says Audi sales director Peter Schwarzenbauer. "We will have passed our main competitors in 2010 in terms of sales in the European market." Audi expects a sales fall of around 10 per cent this year but Schwarzenbauer points out that a strong performance in China will set the pace for the automaker in other markets. "Audi is already ahead of BMW and Mercedes, a division of Daimler, in China and the remaining markets will follow by 2015," he predicts.