New record for Audi: In the first six months of the year the company handed over more than 733,000 cars to customers worldwide, 12.3 percent more than in the same period of 2011. Around 133,050 customers chose an Audi in June alone – 13.1 percent more than one year ago. The strong performance in Germany continued in the past month with growth of 14.6 percent. The Ingolstadt-based company once again experienced significant double-digit (+20.4 percent) growth in deliveries on the Chinese market. In the United States, AUDI AG concluded the first half of the year with the best sales month in the company’s US history, plus 26.0 percent in June.
“Despite a noticeable headwind in the Southern European markets, where Audi performs better than the total market, the brand is growing in all world regions. As a result, we are clearly on course to achieve our target of 1.4 million deliveries by year’s end,” says Rupert Stadler, Chairman of the Board of Management of AUDI AG. Peter Schwarzenbauer, Audi Board Member for Marketing and Sales, adds: “We want to continue this growth path in the second half of the year, when overall sales are traditionally not as strong. The new generation of the Q5 will also contribute as well as the new A3, which is especially important for Europe.”
Sales for Audi in Europe rose over the first six months by 2.8 percent to around 393,350 cars. As a result, the four rings further expanded its lead as Europe’s most successful premium carmaker. The brand is also developing successfully on its home continent in a long-term comparison with the market environment as a whole. While the Western European car market is currently down to its 1994 level, Audi’s sales volume in the first half of the year has more than doubled since then. As a result, Audi’s market share in Western Europe reached a record level of about 5.7 percent during the first half of 2012.
Leading the growth of recent months were the Audi Q3 and the new A6. Deliveries of the A6 Avant model, which is especially popular in Europe, surpassed those of its predecessor in the first half of 2011 by 63.3 percent.
Growth for Audi in Western Europe was led in the first half of the year by the German market, where sales rose by 7.3 percent to 134,173 units. This was also boosted by the A1 Sportback and the carmaker’s growing fleet business. Deliveries also grew by a significant 4.5 percent in the United Kingdom, the company’s second largest sales market in Europe. In addition, Audi noted a strong increase in demand for example in the Netherlands, with 13,026 cars handed over to customers (+30.4 percent), in Austria (+11.8 percent to 10,828 units), and in Switzerland (+6.5 percent to 9,125 cars). In France, sales figures reached the level of the same period last year (+0.4 percent), enabling Audi to further solidify its leadership position in the premium segment. Business also proved more stable for the four rings than for the total markets with regard to registration statistics in Italy and Spain. Deliveries however declined nonetheless at -18.7 and -9.9 percent respectively. In contrast, the entire Eastern European region has risen over recent months to become an increasingly important growth engine for Audi, particularly in Russia, which increased its sales total by 40.9 percent to 16,563 cars.
In the United States, Audi of America set new records for deliveries in each of the six months. Cumulative sales rose by 16.5 percent to 65,158 units, fueled above all by the Q5 and the A7 Sportback, which is particularly popular with American customers, as well as by the A6 Sedan. There were 4,249 units of the A7 luxury-class coupe delivered in the United States during the first half of the year; the Q5 grew further in its second-biggest sales market by 21.6 percent to 13,544 deliveries. Moreover, continued growth across all models in Canada (+14.0 percent to 10,054 cars) and Mexico (+6.0 percent to 3,862 cars) further strengthened Audi’s momentum in North America in the first half of the year.
Locally produced models spearheaded the strong growth in China during the first half of the year – up 37.8 percent to 193,871 cars: deliveries of the long-wheelbase version of the A4 increased 42.9 percent compared to the same period of 2011 – those of the Q5 rose by even 86.7 percent. Despite the model changeover that only took place in April, the A6 L also experienced considerable double-digit growth. With a total of 63,160 cars handed over to customers, this model confirmed its dominant position compared with the competition. Positive development in many other markets once again made Asia-Pacific the fastest-growing sales region for Audi in the first six months: in Japan, for instance (+18.6 percent to 11,961 units), in South Korea (7,196 cars, +50.2 percent), and, not least, in India. There, a comparison with deliveries in the first half of 2011 shows an increase of 42.8 percent to 4,000 premium cars sold. This is thanks above all to the new A6 and the new generation of the A4, the two models with the highest volume of sales for Audi in the market. The successful launch of the Q3 this month in India also contributed to the 76.0 percent increase in sales there in June.
The youngest SUV with the four-ring emblem also arrived at dealerships for the first time in many other important growth markets in recent weeks, including Japan, Brazil and South Africa. The Q3 will celebrate its market debut in China during July. Stadler: “Worldwide demand for SUVs remains undiminished; their share of the global premium market will continue to grow in coming years. These are strong signals for our entire Q family, which we will supplement in the future with additional models.”
Back