CEO declares Audi brand will be world's No. 1

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Audi CEO Rupert Stadler says his company is well on its way to surpassing BMW as the global number one luxury automaker. In an interview with Automotive News, Stadler says he is still optimistic that his firm can overtake BMW by 2015.

The rosy outlook is buoyed by a large amount of early interest in the entry-level Audi A1, and Audi's recent "leap" past Mercedez-Benz in total sales.

Thus far, Audi sales are more than 20 percent higher in 2010 than the same January to May period in 2009. The firm has sold 450,000 vehicles to date, including efficient versions of the A3 and A4, as well as the all-new A8. Expansion in China could mean that 200,000 cars get delivered to that country this year alone. Meanwhile, sales in the United States have thus far improved by 30 percent.

Stadler hopes the momentum continues with the release of the Audi A7 later in the year, and the all-new Q3, due out in 2011.