Audi sells 153,850 cars in May, up 1.2%, US numbers up but China down

At around 153,850 cars, Audi’s worldwide deliveries in May were marginally above sales in May 2014 (+1.2%). In addition to the upcoming model changes for the Q7 and A4, Audi’s top-selling model, the current reticence to buy in the Chinese luxury segment was particularly noticeable.

What acted as a buffer though was sales in the Americas, up 11.1 percent to around 24,500 vehicles. The TT, whose global sales doubled in the month (+96.6%), also helped drive sales. Across all models, Audi has sold around 744,900 cars to customers since January, an increase of 4.3 percent.

“In the upcoming months, we expect to see an additional boost from the new Q7. It will come to European dealerships in June,” said Luca de Meo, member of the Board of Management for Sales and Marketing at Audi AG: “We are currently seeing a great many contrasting developments in the markets; the SUV boom is, however, a uniform global trend. Sporty off‑roaders are growing more strongly than the market in all regions.”

In the United States, the world’s largest SUV market, the Q3, Q5 and Q7 achieved combined growth of just under 37 percent in May. Across all models, US sales grew by 11.0 percent to 18,428 units. Audi also saw considerable growth in Canada, with sales up 26.2 percent to 2,880 vehicles.

In Western Europe, Audi managed to exceed its result from May 2014 (+1.4% to  64,900 units). Italy (+23.3% to 5,336 cars), Spain (+13.4% to 4,037 cars) and Portugal (+38.2% to 1,002 cars) achieved growth rates here well into double digits. In Germany, sales were flat – up 0.8 percent to 24,727 units. The new TT proved one of the top sellers, with sales doubling in May (+157.8%). The A6 was also very popular among customers in Germany in the past month. Sales of the Avant version of the A6 increased by just under 17 percent.

In contrast to Western Europe, there are very few signs of a reversal of the trend in Eastern Europe, where the downturn in the economy continues to be felt. In Russia, for instance, the demand for Audi models fell by 37.1 percent in May.

In China, Audi also felt the impact of the current consumer reticence to buy in the luxury segment: sales were below the 2014 figure with 47,410 units (-1.6%) in May. In contrast, Japan is showing the first positive signs of a market recovery. Here, Audi sales climbed 16 percent to 2,502 vehicles in May, the strongest growth for 14 months.