No Minivans for Audi

Volkswagen AG's Audi unit says it won't enter the minivan market as rival BMW AG has done.

Product development chief Ulrich Hackenberg tells Automotive News Europe Audi it will cede the minivan market to its sister VW brand, which already offers several models in that segment. Audi's closest entry was the slow-selling A2 introduced in 2000 and dropped in 2005.

Hackenberg says Audi will continue instead to focus on the SUV/crossover market, especially new compact entries where he sees "very, very high conquest rates."