Audi sold fewer cars in 2025, but the trend is upward at the end of the year. (Archive image) Photo: Sven Hoppe/dpa
Ingolstadt. Although Audi sold fewer cars in 2025, it can at least show a clear upward trend at the end of the year. In the past twelve months, the brand’s global deliveries fell by 2.9 percent to 1.62 million cars. Recently, however, the numbers have increased and have been higher than the previous year every month since September. In the fourth quarter there was an increase of 2.8 percent to 447,786 cars.
“Our product offensive is hitting the streets, which is gradually being reflected in deliveries,” says Sales Director Marco Schubert. Electric cars in particular are on the rise. There was an increase of 36 percent to more than 223,000 pure electric vehicles for the year as a whole. “We want to continue this upward trend in 2026,” emphasizes Schubert.
The situation was particularly difficult for Audi last year in the USA, where the brand lost 12.2 percent in sales and only sold 202,143 cars. Since Audi – unlike BMW, for example – does not have its own factory there, the Ingolstadt-based company is particularly suffering from the tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump. And this despite the fact that Audi has so far practically not passed on the additional costs caused by the tariffs to its customers. For comparison: BMW grew significantly in the USA last year, while Mercedes suffered losses to a similar extent as Audi.
Comparatively mild in China
In Audi’s most important market, China, the decline at the end of the year was 5 percent and 617,514 cars. The Ingolstadt-based company has thus significantly reduced its deficit there. After the first nine months they were still 9 percent below the previous year. The market there is currently weak and at the same time intensely competitive, which is why all European manufacturers are suffering there. BMW, for example, lost more than 12 percent in sales and Mercedes even lost 19 percent.
In Germany, Audi was even able to grow – by 4 percent to 206,290 cars. In the rest of Europe there was a minimal minus of 0.5 percent.
Audi said 2025 would be challenging. Not only intense competition, but also American customs policy presented the entire industry with major challenges.