Audi Q5
The Q5 is one of three models that Audi also offers with electric drive in China.
(Photo: Reuters)
Although Audi sold significantly more cars in the first half of the year, profits fell. Although sales rose by 14.4 percent to 34.2 billion euros, the bottom line was a profit of 3.3 billion euros, which had fallen by a good quarter, as the Ingolstadt-based VW subsidiary announced on Friday. Among other things, strongly negative effects from raw material hedging transactions played a role, and a year ago Audi had also benefited from higher used car prices, as CFO Jürgen Rittersberger explained.
In the first half of the year, sales, which also include the Bentley and Lamborghini brands, increased by 24 percent in Europe and 30 percent in the USA. The important Chinese market, on the other hand, weakened by only two percent after the previous year had been problematic there. The first quarter was also weak, but in the second quarter Audi achieved stronger growth again at 20 percent – albeit only compared to the weak previous year’s figures, which were characterized by lockdowns.
Audi sold a good 900,000 vehicles worldwide, 15.5 percent more than in the previous year. 8.2 percent of these were electric vehicles. This proportion should increase to more than ten percent this year, said Rittersberger. By 2030, 75 percent of all Audis sold will be electrically powered. The Ingolstadt-based company wants to bring the necessary vehicles onto the market by 2025.
“All in all, our first half of the year went well,” said Rittersberger. However, he also acknowledged that the supply of electric vehicles in China is currently rather small. You can feel the price war there, but try to stay out of it.
The car manufacturer is therefore stepping up the pace in its cooperation with its Chinese partner SAIC. On the basis of a platform that SAIC makes available, they will quickly expand their own range, said Rittersberger on Friday when the quarterly figures were presented. “We will really step on the gas.” However, he left open which model it is and when the vehicle will be launched.
Problems with logistics also affect Audi
Audi currently only has three electric cars on offer in China – the two SUVs, the Q4 and Q5, and the top model, the etron GT. Audi is currently manufacturing the Q5 together with SAIC. SAIC’s IM Motors electric brand, in which the Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba has a stake, launched the L7 luxury sedan a year ago.
However, VW had recently been dissatisfied with the development of its daughter. A month ago, the group replaced the previous Audi boss Markus Duesmann with Gernot Döllner.
Gernot Dollner
Döllner will replace the deposed Audi boss Markus Duesmann from September
(Photo: Audi AG)
At the same time, Audi felt the logistical problems of its mother Volkswagen. Especially in the shipping traffic between North America and Europe it is tight, said Rittersberger. This applies to the Q5, for example, which is produced in Mexico. VW lowered its vehicle delivery targets on Thursday due to logistics problems.
Audi largely confirmed its own forecast for the current year. However, the group expects somewhat higher research and development costs.
More: New electric cars for China – VW joins Chinese manufacturer Xpeng