source: Audi AG
- Around 1,357,100 units delivered since January
- Strong growth in Europe in September
- Hildegard Wortmann, Member of the Board of Management for Sales and Marketing: “Positive outlook for the last quarter”
The Four Rings closed September with deliveries up 4.5 percent year-on-year. Last month the company delivered around 145,400 units. The picture was mixed among the core regions: While deliveries in Europe (+33.1%) increased sharply due to prior-year effects, the figures for deliveries in North America (-13.8%) and China (-3.3%) were down year-on-year. Since January the carmaker delivered around 1,357,100 premium automobiles to customers, reducing the cumulative decline to 3.6 percent.
“With our extensive model range we consistently meet our customers’ wishes and demonstrate our brand’s charisma. Other new models such as the Q3 Sportback are due to be launched by the end of the year, which will further strengthen and rejuvenate our product portfolio,” says Hildegard Wortmann, Member of the Board of Management for Sales and Marketing at AUDI AG. “This prospect gives us a positive outlook for the last quarter of 2019.”
Although deliveries in China were down 3.3 percent year-on-year, the overall balance is positive. Seen across all models, Audi delivered 491,040 units in the period January through September; cumulative deliveries were up 1.7 percent, setting a new benchmark figure. By the end of the year, China will see the launch of brand-new models such as the all-electric Q2 L e-tron from China for China, the Audi e-tron* and the Q8.
In September 2018, restrictions in the portfolio due to the switch to the WLTP test cycle and the challenging startup and discontinuation scenario as part of the Audi model initiative had an adverse effect on deliveries in Europe. This year nearly all variants have been homologated as per the extended test cycle WLTP Second Act and are available in the configurator. In September, deliveries on the home continent increased 33.1 percent to around 49,550 units. Audi holds a strong position in Europe, particularly in private and fleet customers business. Cumulative deliveries were still down 3.4 percent. In Germany, the company delivered 14,649 automobiles (+113.4%) last month, with cumulative deliveries since January down just 1.4 percent on the prior-year figure. Interest remained strong for the new Q3 in Europe in September. The new model generated high growth in countries such as Italy (+171.0% to 832 units), Spain (+149.1% to 436 units)and France (+144.1% to 542 units).
With around 20,600 cars handed over to customers, the company saw deliveries fall by 13.8 percent in North America. Cumulatively, North America closed the first nine months of the year with around 192,450 units, a drop of 7.2 percent. Canada again saw demand increase in September. With 3,453 automobiles the Ingolstadt-based carmaker exceeded the 2018 figure by 5.3 percent last month. The Four Rings delivered 16,130 cars (-16.6%) in the United States. The delivery figures for the new Audi Q3 (+57.6% to 1,820 units) in particular had a positive effect in September. Since the start of the year the new full-size models including the A6 (+128.0%), A7 (+108.0%) and A8 (+161.7%) saw strong growth. Across the entire product portfolio, buyers in the United States took delivery of 158,471 units since January, a decrease of 5.3 percent.
