Audi in November: Deliveries remain down on last year due to exceptional situation

Global deliveries of the Four Rings in November fell by 16.7 percent year-on-year to around 132,650 automobiles. In Europe, extraordinary effects due to the switch to the WLTP test cycle along with the challenging phase-in and phase-out scenario as part of the Audi model initiative continue to affect sales. As a result, the company delivered 33.9 percent fewer units in Europe last month than in the same month in 2017. Deliveries from the Ingolstadt-based automaker also fell 9.1 percent in North America on account of imminent model changeovers. By contrast, China continued to grow (+2.7%). Cumulative global sales since January were down 2.4 percent on the corresponding period of 2017 at around 1,657,950 units.

“We are going through a very challenging phase for our company which is adversely affecting our operating business,” said Bram Schot, interim CEO and Board Member for Sales and Marketing at AUDI AG. “We are working intensely on the homologation of our engine/transmission variants and already have a sales portfolio running into three figures. At the same time we are laying down important markers for the future with our model initiative.”

In China, the company set a new record-breaking figure. The brand’s current model range posted sales of 57,721 units in China in November, surpassing the same month of the previous year by 2.7 percent. In the middle of the month, the Ingolstadt-based automaker celebrated its 30th anniversary with local partner First Automotive Works (FAW) and set out joint plans for the future: Audi wants to increase its local portfolio to more than ten models through 2022. As early as 2019, the Audi Q2 L e-tron, the brand’s first electric car exclusively for the Chinese market, will go into production. Sales of the A4 L, another model developed specially for China, rose sharply in November (+20.3% to 13,842 cars). Audi in China has already delivered more than 148,000 units of the A4L to customers in the year to date. In total, 597,451 customers (+13.0%) in the Middle Kingdom chose a model from the Four Rings in the period January through November – a new record-breaking figure.

In Europe, the challenging sales situation associated with the switch to WLTP and the ongoing model changeovers continues. Last month, Audi’s sales on the home continent fell 33.9 percent year-on-year to around 43,850 units. In Germany, the company delivered 15,706 automobiles in November, a fall of 27.0 percent. Over the coming months this strained situation is set to continue. As such, AUDI AG expects sales figures to remain volatile. On full-year-guidance the company assumes global deliveries will be virtually on par with the prior-year level.

The sales figures for the United States total 17,082 automobiles, representing a decrease of 11.0 percent. The model changeover for the A6, A7 and A8 full-size models is currently underway. The Audi Q5 – the highly popular SUV in the U.S. market – bettered its 2017 reference figure in November by 7.7 percent to 5,889 cars. The new Audi Q8, the latest model in the Q family, is also being received extremely well by customers following its launch in the United States: The premium manufacturer has delivered around 1,000 units of the full-size SUV to date. In total, the company has delivered 200,558 automobiles (+0.5%) to customers in the U.S. market since the start of the year, on a par with the high level of last year.

In Canada, the Four Rings saw demand grow in the past month, with 3,273 automobiles representing an increase in sales of 11.8 percent. In the year to date, Audi Canada continues to perform well (+4.2%). In North America, the company closed last month with sales down 9.1 percent overall; cumulative sales in the region since January were up 1.1 percent to around 249,200 customers.