Dear reader,
Big news from Audi: in China, the country to which the Volkswagen Group has unconditionally surrendered itself, Audi will soon exist twice as a brand! Once as we know it, with the rings as a logo. And a new one, AUDI in capital letters and without the rings. These new Audis are being developed in cooperation with the state-owned company SAIC and are aimed at, get this, a “particularly tech-savvy clientele”. The old Audis are of course still available, namely from the cooperation partner FAW, and their dealers were reportedly not so enthusiastic about the new Audis (another reason for the name variation). Some commentators have rightly pointed out that Audi is on a direct path to brand hell with this decision, and we can only agree. But beyond Audi’s brand architecture, there is a much bigger question for us, and that of course has to do with Trump, China, Peter Navarro and the “balance of trade”, i.e. the question of whether global trade is actually going down the drain. And if this is the case, the next question is what this means for global brands. What are the consequences for Apple, Mercedes-Benz and Gucci if the USA sets a tariff spiral in motion? How will they be able to hold their own in China, India or even Turkey? Will it be enough to relocate production? Or will we soon see a deglobalization of the brands as well? Audi’s brand strategy (or even just a look at Ford in Cologne) suggests that brands will shrink along with global trade. Or what do you think?
Here is the link: