Cars & Autos | Saturday 2 May, 2015 1:44 am |

• Worldwide sales rise by 4.4 percent, with around 177,950 cars sold
• Sales chief Luca de Meo: “Successful start to the year with the strongest first quarter of all time”
• Middle East region double digit growth of 13%


A start of the year made to measure for AUDI AG: With around 438,250 units sold, the brand’s global sales increased in the first quarter by 6.1 percent compared with the same p`eriod 2014 – with growth in all regions. The successful start to the year was also helped by the March results. With a plus of 4.4 percent to around 177,950 cars, Audi delivered more automobiles in a single month than ever before. This means that the company with the Four Rings has registered an increase in sales for 63 months in a row.

“Our new record in the first quarter makes for a successful start into the new year, and we intend to continue this trend throughout the rest of the year,” says Luca de Meo, Board Member for Sales and Marketing at AUDI AG. “In the second half of the year our new Audi Q7* will also start contributing to these figures in Europe. The initial response by customers and dealers has been very good, and orders are already exceeding our expectations – even before the model has hit the showrooms.”

During the first three months of the year, sales primarily increased for the A3 family* (+43.8%), the Audi Q3* (+9.6%) and the Audi A6* (+8.1%). The demand for the full-size category model grew especially in Germany, up 19.0 percent since the beginning of 2015. The new generation of the A6 has also been available in the United States since March and will provide an additional boost in third largest A6 market.

Overall, Audi deliveries have climbed in the U.S. by 13.8 percent to 40,098, despite the lingering winter. The success story of the previous months also continued in March, with a growth of 20 percent. The Audi Q5* was again the bestseller in the United States and a growth driver with 3,934 units – an increase of 17.2 percent.

Sales were also clearly in the double-digits in other major markets: For example, Audi unit sales in Brazil increased in March by 63.9 percent.

In Europe too, Audi recorded the best first quarter in its history. Despite the continually strained economic conditions in some markets, the automaker managed to slightly increase its number of deliveries compared with the first three months of 2014 and exceed the 200,000 mark in unit sales (+3.4% to around 207,250 units). Especially important drivers were Germany (+10.2% to 73,208 units) and Spain (+7.0% to 12,322 units), where the overall market, although still well below the pre-crisis level of 2007, exhibited a constantly positive trend. SUVs in particular strengthened brand business, up by 22.8 percent to 2,830 units sold. In March, Belgium presented the highest growth rate among the ten largest European markets for Audi. Deliveries were up by 12.6 percent to 4,115 units.

Audi sales have increased in the Asia-Pacific region by 7.6 percent to around 162,150 since the beginning of the year. Among the major Asian markets, South Korea has led the growth momentum of the Four Rings. Here sales figures rose by 58.5 percent to 3,894 units in March, a plus of 34.9 percent to 9,194 units sold since the beginning of the year. In the Middle East, the first quarter has had a healthy start to the year with growth of 13% fuelled mainly through new models such as the popular A3 Sedan (+167%) and the A8 (+60%) Australia has also brought Audi a double-digit rise in sales. Between January and March, the company delivered 15.3 percent more vehicles to customers than during the same period in 2014. In China, Audi also significantly exceeded its result from the previous quarter (+7.1%) with 133,316 deliveries. In March sales of the brand in China increased by 1.5 percent compared with the same month in 2014.


Sales
AUDI AG In March Cumulative
2015 2014 Change from 2014 2015 2014 Change from 2014
World 177,950 170,452 +4.4% 438,250 412,848 +6.1%
Europe 90,650 88,750 +2.2% 207,250 200,353 +3.4%
- Germany 27,902 27,226 +2.5% 73,208 66,458 +10.2%
- UK 29,140 28,068 +3.8% 45,783 43,671 +4.8%
- France 5,703 5,425 +5.1% 14,609 14,581 +0.2%
- Italy 4,518 4,516 0% 12,596 12,537 +0.5%
- Spain 4,491 4,088 +9.9% 12,322 11,519 +7.0%
- Russia 2,630 3,758 -30.0% 6,132 8,286 -26.0%
USA 17,102 14,246 +20.0% 40,098 35,228 +13.8%
Mexico 1,077 1,040 +3.6% 3,195 3,075 +3.9%
Brazil 1,460 891 +63.9% 4,014 3,115 +28.9%
Middle East 862 901 -4% 2,911 2,565 +13%
China (incl. Hong Kong) 48,356 47,636 +1.5% 133,316 124,520 +7.1%

-End-


In 2014, the Audi Group delivered approximately 1,741,100 cars of the Audi brand to its customers. The company achieved revenue of €53.8 billion and an operating profit of €5.15 billion in 2014. Audi operates globally in more than 100 markets and has production facilities in Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm (Germany), Győr (Hungary), Brussels (Belgium), Bratislava (Slovakia), Martorell (Spain), Kaluga (Russia), Aurangabad (India), Changchun and Foshan (China) as well as Jakarta (Indonesia). The brand with the Four Rings will start producing cars in Curitiba (Brazil) this year and in San José Chiapa (Mexico) in 2016. Wholly owned subsidiaries of AUDI AG include quattro GmbH (Neckarsulm), Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. (Sant’Agata Bolognese, Italy) and sports motorcycle manufacturer Ducati Motor Holding S.p.A. (Bologna, Italy). The company currently employs approximately 80,000 people worldwide, thereof around 58,000 in Germany. Total investment of about €24 billion is planned from 2015 to 2019 – primarily in new products and sustainable technologies. Audi is committed to its corporate responsibility and has anchored the principle of sustainability for its products and processes in its strategy. The long term goal is CO2 neutral mobility.

AUDI AG’s commitment to the region was confirmed through the foundation of its fully owned subsidiary in 2005. The current Middle East model range comprises the Audi A1, A3 and S3 Sedan, A4 and RS 4 Avant, the A5 Coupe, Sportback, Cabriolet and RS 5, the A6, S6 & RS 6 Avant, A7, S7 & RS 7, A8 L & S8, the Audi Q3, Q5 and Q7, the Audi TT Coupe/Roadster and TT RS Coupe, the Audi R8 Coupe and R8 Spyder as well as R8 V10 plus.