Carsten Bender joins Audi Middle East as brand director

Dubai: Carsten Bender has been appointed as Brand Director of Audi Middle East effective as of June 3rd 2018.

With over 18 years’ experience with AUDI AG, Carsten Bender joins Audi Middle East as the Brand Director in the region. His career with the Four Rings has included international achievements as Sales Manager for Australia, New Zealand and Japan and as the Director of After Sales for the European Markets based at the Company headquarters in Ingolstadt. His most recent roles were as the Sales Director for both Eastern and Western European regions.  He returns to the Middle East, where he held the position of Audi Middle East Sales Director from 2009-2011, to lead the Audi brand in the region. 

As Audi Middle East Brand Director, operating from the AVME regional office in Dubai, Carsten Bender will be responsible for driving the growth across 11 countries in the GCC and Levant for the Audi brand. Key to this will be to focus on enhancing the customer experience through the long term goals of digitalisation, sustainability and urbanisation throughout the dealer network.

Carsten Bender, Brand Director of Audi Middle East said: “I am taking over the responsibility of Audi Middle East at a time of great change, both globally and regionally. Audi has a strong portfolio of innovative new models to bring to the market over the next few years and I am looking forward to a period of growth and opportunity upon which we can further develop our business. We have excellent business partners to work with in our region and I look forward to utilising my experience, in the Middle East, Europe and Asia Pacific, to continue to build our Brand image in the region and to enhance the customer experience.”

Carsten Bender’s move to the Audi Middle East organisation will see him operate from the regional headquarters of AVME FZE in Dubai Airport Free Zone. His role will be to lead a team of over 36 staff representing Audi, and to support growth of the Audi brand across 11 countries, 12 importers and 24 dealer facilities in the GCC and Levant.

In addition to his mother tongue German, he is fluent in English and Spanish. In his leisure time, the 45 year old German National enjoys running, swimming and photography. Carsten Bender is married with two children.

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The Audi Group, with its brands Audi, Ducati and Lamborghini, is one of the most successful manufacturers of automobiles and motorcycles in the premium segment. It is present in more than 100 markets worldwide and produces at 16 locations in twelve countries. 100 percent subsidiaries of AUDI AG include Audi Sport GmbH (Neckarsulm), Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. (Sant’Agata Bolognese, Italy) and Ducati Motor Holding S.p.A. (Bologna, Italy).  

In 2017, the Audi Group delivered to customers about 1.878 million automobiles of the Audi brand, 3,815 sports cars of the Lamborghini brand and 55,900 motorcycles of the Ducati brand. In the 2017 fiscal year, AUDI AG achieved total revenue of €60.1 billion and an operating profit of €5.1 billion. At present, approximately 90,000 people work for the company all over the world, more than 60,000 of them in Germany. Audi focuses on sustainable products and technologies for the future of mobility. 

AUDI AG’s commitment to the region was confirmed through the foundation of its fully owned subsidiary in 2005. The current Middle East model range comprises the Audi A3 & S3 Sedan and RS 3 Sedan/Sportback, A4 and S4, the A5/S5 Coupe, Sportback and Cabriolet and RS 5 Coupe and Cabriolet, the A6, S6, RS 6 performance, A7, S7, RS 7 & RS 7 performance, A8, A8 L, S8 & S8 plus, the Audi Q2, Q3, RS Q3 performance, Q5 & SQ5, Q7 and the Audi TT Coupe/Roadster, TTS Coupe, TT RS Coupe, the Audi R8 Coupe, R8 Coupe V10 plus as well as the R8 V10 Spyder.

© Press Release 2018