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Is Audi getting complacent and suffering from brain drain?

The argument is made in a Reuters article: Audi is falling behind other luxury brands, such as Mercedes-Benz and BMW, due to a lack of research-and-development spending and "brain drain," or the migration of top executives and R&D chiefs to other parts of the Volkswagen Group. Reuters notes that Audi's current R&D chief is the third in 16 months.
Audi, which contributed to 40 percent of VW Group's $11.6 billion in profit the first nine months of the year, is delivering cars at a record pace: 1.31 million were delivered from January to October 2013 versus BMW's 1.35 million. Yet Audi, Reuters reports, doesn't have a halo car akin to BMW's new electrified i3 and i8 or an answer to Mercedes' plug-in-hybrid S-Class, and the R&D spending at Audi is less than BMW and Mercedes by a fair margin. It's noted in the article, however, that Audi benefits from other R&D spending within VW Group.
Reuters mentions that BMW "trumpets its new 'i' series" and the new Mercedes CLA and GLA ranges are winning "rave reviews" as part of its argument that Audi's recent lack of technological innovation could hurt future sales. Those cars do pack tons of new technology, some of which are firsts for mainstream production cars. But last time we checked, the i3 could be causing BMW's stock to slide, the CLA isn't receiving the rave reviews that Reuters would have you believe and the GLA hasn't been reviewed yet.

Mercedes mulling Renault-based entry-level X-Class?

Somewhere in between the Smart brand and the all-new A-Class (pictured above), Daimler is said to be readying a smaller entry-level product for the Mercedes-Benz brand to compete with models like the Audi A1. According to AutoBild, Mercedes-Benz will get a new hatchback based on a platform from its recent partnership with Renault-Nissan, and it could be called the X-Class.
Expected to debut by 2018, the Mercedes-Benz X-Class could be offered in sedan, hatchback and crossover variants, and it would likely have a starting price below the $20,000-euro mark. Power would come from either a 1.0-liter inline three-cylinder engine or a 1.5-liter inline-four, and the car would likely be built in a low-cost nation in order to make the financials work. Wearing the Mercedes-Benz name, the X-Class would have to exhibit more distinguishable luxury and styling to set itself apart from the models that helped provide its underpinnings.

Mercedes pickup could have Nissan DNA

Daimler and the Renault-Nissan Alliance are already close partners. Now it seems that the upcoming Mercedes-Benz midsize pickup might have a little Nissan DNA in it, too. Or maybe not, depending on how you interpret comments by Renault-Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn. "I don't want anybody to think that because they announced a pickup truck, they have to make it with us. Not at all," Ghosn said at the New York Auto Show, according to Automotive News. "They are completely free to do it by themselves, to do it with somebody else, etc., and also, or to do it with us." The Mercedes Vans division is responsible for the truck's development, and the pickup is aimed at the popular global midsize segment against vehicles like the Ford Ranger and Toyota Hilux. There's no mention of any plans for the model in North America. Instead, Mercedes wants to focus on Latin America, South Africa, Australia and Europe for a launch slated before 2020. Ghosn was quite clear there was no decision either way as of yet. "Is this something that can eventually be on the table? I told you, everything is on the table between us," he said, according to Automotive News. If the two companies do decide to collaborate on a midsize truck, the timing would seem perfect. Nissan completed development of its NP300 Navara in 2014, and the automaker has been at work at least evaluating powertrains for the next Frontier possibly for 2019. Related Video: