Audi and the rise of the SUV Speaking at the 2014 Detroit motor show, Luca de Meo, Audi's board member for sales and marketing, was in philosophical mood about the strength of the seemingly unstoppable rise of the compact SUV when asked if the market could simply disappear. "You could argue that they [SUVs] don't have the greatest dynamics," he admitted, "but they are safe, practical and comfortable. Women like to sit up high and so do older people, and they are a sales phenomenon everywhere. "Audi will benefit from the polarisation of the market into premium and low cost sectors," he said. There are also untapped markets for the brand, such as Brazil where we sold just 6,500 last year. Audi is planning to open a factory in Brazil to build specifically for South American markets. Commenting on the battle for global dominance between Germany's premium brands, de Meo admitted "it is a race, with BMW doing 1.65 [million] last year and Mercedes Benz doing 1.461 [million], but it isn't a sprint, but more like a Le Mans race. Besides, there are other a equally valid measures of being a premium brand besides just volume.