A global brand but local cars is Audi's future, says CEO

MUNICH—One of the defining car industry trends of the early 21st century was the global, or world, car. Spread the development costs out across multiple markets, the thinking went, and efficiency takes care of the rest. At least that was the idea; post-COVID, post-Evergreen, and in a world now erupting into trade wars and actual shooting wars, plans need to change.

“With Audi we have to be flexible on a global perspective,” said Audi AG CEO Gernot Döllner, and the new Q9 is an example of that. “It’s really the car where US requirements were at the center of the product development process. It’s dedicated to the US for the first time. Global launch, not Europe and then US. And for the Q9, it’s the US first and then it’s also dominated the volume we expect by the US American market. And then after the US,...

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