[source: Audi AG]
- Around 160,900 deliveries worldwide, up 3.1 percent
- China and North America provide important sales momentum
- Sales chief Bram Schot: “Set to more than double our local model range in China”
AUDI AG delivered around 160,900 premium cars in April. Global sales increased by 3.1 percent. Customers took delivery of around 624,650 units across all models since January, an increase of 8.0 percent. As such, the Four Rings once again beat its previous record-breaking figure, achieving the strongest demand in Audi history on a cumulative basis. In the core regions dealers in Europe reporting 4.1 percent fewer deliveries in the past month than in April 2017. By contrast, sales increased above average in North America (+3.9%) and China (+13.5%).
“The challenging Chinese market is the pioneer for digitalization and electric mobility. Here we still have a great deal of untapped potential,” says Bram Schot, Board Member for Sales and Marketing at AUDI AG. “Through 2022, we will more than double our locally produced model range and build four pure battery-electric models locally.”
In China, the increase in sales over the past few months continued (+13.5% to 52,411 units). The brand with the Four Rings presented the long-wheelbase versions of the Audi Q5 and A8 at the Beijing Motor Show. The SUV will be launched in the Chinese market in the summer. To date, the sporty off-roader has been an important growth driver for Audi in China. With 10,669 models sold (+12.7%) in the past month, the SUV accounts for around a fifth of Audi sales in China. The Middle Kingdom is the most important sales market for the Audi A8. In April, around half of the A8 models delivered went to a Chinese customer. Sales of the luxury model increased in the last month in China by 49.3 percent year-on-year.
Japan also performed positively since the start of the year. In the second-largest market in the Asia-Pacific region, Audi saw sales grow 3.6 percent to 8,664 cars in the first four months of the year. Likewise, Korea achieved a positive sales balance in the year to date following a long period of stagnation, with sales of more than 2,500 units since January.
In Europe, the impact of the imminent model initiative and the associated model start-ups and discontinuations was still apparent. In the domestic region, deliveries in April fell by 4.1 percent to around 72,550 cars. The fall in sales in large markets such as Germany (-5.4% to 26,696 cars) and France (-12.7% to 5,238 cars) in particular had an adverse effect on results. By contrast, sales in Italy increased by 4.6 percent. In Europe as a whole, the carmaker sold around 288,550 cars over the past four months, down 4.6 percent on the same period last year.
Business of the Four Rings in North America continued its positive trend: In April, demand in Mexico increased by0.9 percent to 1,058 units. With sales up 13.9 percent and 4,108 cars delivered, April provided the best monthly result ever in Audi history in Canada and the 28th consecutive record-breaking month.
In the U.S. market, Audi sales increased 2.1 percent to 19,104 cars. As in many other markets, the Audi Q5 and the A5 family in particular generated positive momentum. The SUV is Audi’s top-selling model in the United States. Audi of America delivered 19,305 units of the SUV since the start of the year, a year-on-year increase of 18.1 percent. Following Germany, the United States is the biggest customer for the A5 Sportback. Last month, 1,106 customers opted for the upper mid-range model. Across all models in the A5 family, the company saw sales increase by 115.4 percent to 2,169 cars. Audi managed to consistently increase its cumulative U.S. sales between January and April: Since the start of the year, customers in the United States have taken delivery of 69,156 units, an increase of 7.5 percent. In North America, sales in the same period increased by 8.3 percent to around 85,650 cars.
