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BMW expects China to pass US as its top market in 2013

When you combine two billion citizens, 100 cities with more than a million inhabitants and an economy that's as unrestrained as Jim Cramer on an Adderall binge, China's explosive auto industry growth shouldn't be a huge surprise. Audi already lists the communist country as its largest market, while Mercedes-Benz is expecting it to be there in the next few years. Now, according to a report from Automotive News, BMW is expecting the People's Republic to overtake the United States in sales by the end of 2013.
We already discovered the extent that BMW is going to in establishing a dedicated Chinese stronghold, when we explored BMW's Shanghai-based DesignWorks studio ahead of April's Shanghai Motor Show. And while we argued that DesignWorks Shanghai hasn't really borne fruit, it isn't due to a lack of sales.
BMW China has seen a 16-percent jump in year-over-year sales, lead by a 28-percent gain in 5 Series sales. Part of BMW's growth strategy comes from an ever-expanding dealership network. Remember those 100 cities we mentioned with over one million people? According to Karsten Engel, CEO of BMW's Chinese operations, those 100-million-plus city dwellers don't have access to a premium dealership.

Audi Nanuk Concept likes Parcour, puts four rings on it

Without a doubt, one of the coolest (and weirdest) debuts from this year's Geneva Motor Show had to be the Italdesign Giugiaro Parcour concept. And ever since the off-road performance coupe with Lamborgini guts made its debut, we've sort of been smitten with it. We figured this neat two-door would be a one-and-done show car, but to our delight, the folks at Italdesign worked with Audi to create this, the Nanuk Quattro Concept, which makes its debut here at the 2013 Frankfurt Motor Show.
Unlike the original Parcour, the Nanuk ditches the high-revving Lambo-sourced 5.2-liter V10 in favor of a twin-turbocharged 5.0-liter diesel V10. That's a beast of an engine, and with 544 horsepower and 738 pound-feet of torque on hand, it means the 4,189-pound, all-wheel-drive Audi can scoot to 62 miles per hour in under four seconds. Of course, being a diesel, it's surprisingly efficient, and we're told the Nanuk can achieve up to 30 miles per gallon.
As much as we sort of hate the term, the Audi Nanuk is a proper coupe-crossover if we've ever seen one, and utilizes the automaker's next-generation adaptive air suspension (the Parcour had a different pushrod arrangement) that offers a range of almost three inches of height adjustment. There's also an integral steering setup, meaning the rear wheels can turn up to nine degrees in the opposite direction of the front rollers, improving maneuverability.

Mueller named Audi boss, too

Matthias Muller, chairman of the board for the Volkswagen Group, has officially taken the role of chairman of the supervisory board for subsidiary Audi. Muller takes over the role from the disgraced Martin Winterkorn. This appointment should come as a shock to no one, and not just because we told you about it last week. Since Audi is part of the Volkswagen Group, which Muller leads, he's effectively been the head of the subsidiary brand since his appointment in late September. This news simply formalizes his positioning at the Ingolstadt-based company. This, of course, is not Muller's first go-around at Audi. He previously served as Head of Product Management Audi (along with Lamborghini and Seat), before taking the lead on product planning at the entire VW Group. Check out the official press release from VAG. MATTHIAS MULLER BECOMES CHAIRMAN OF THE AUDI SUPERVISORY BOARD Ingolstadt/Neckarsulm, December 7, 2015 – The Chairman of the Board of Management of Volkswagen AG, Matthias Muller, has joined the Supervisory Board of AUDI AG and becomes its Chairman with immediate effect. Berthold Huber will continue to be Deputy Chairman. Furthermore, the two vacant seats for members representing the shareholders will be newly occupied by Julia Kuhn Piech and Josef Ahorner. Matthias Muller has been a member of the Board of Management of Volkswagen AG since March 1, 2015 and its Chairman since September 25, 2015. After completing high school in Ingolstadt, he did a toolmaker's apprenticeship at Audi. He then studied informatics at the Munich University of Applied Sciences. After graduating in informatics, Muller continued his career at Audi in 1978, progressing to become the Head of Product Management for the Audi, Lamborghini and SEAT brands. From 2007 onwards, Muller was Head of Product Management for the Volkswagen Group and the VW brand as well as Executive Vice President of the Volkswagen Group. From 2010 until September 2015, Matthias Muller was Chairman of the Board of Management of Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG. Josef Ahorner (55) is the chairman of the supervisory board and main shareholder of Emarsys AG, and was a member of the shareholder committee of Salzburger Porsche Holding from 1996 until 2008. Julia Kuhn-Piech (34) is a real estate manager and a member of the supervisory boards of MAN SE and the Truck & Bus division of MAN AG.