Audi Group: Good performance in the first half of the year despite major challenges
• CFO Jürgen Rittersberger says: “In the first six months, Audi has shown financial stability and is fully within the target corridor for operating return on sales”
• Member of the Board of Management for Sales Hildegard Wortmann: “Strong growth in all major sales regions – with more than 50 percent more electric cars delivered worldwide”
• Revenue increased to €34.2 billion in the first half of 2023, operating profit was €3.4 billion with net cash flow of €1.9 billion
After a strong start to the year, the Audi Group continued its successful trajectory in the first half of 2023. Between January and June, the brand group progressive delivered a total of 919,548 Audi, Bentley, and Lamborghini vehicles. This corresponds to an increase of more than 15.3 percent compared with the previous-year period. The Group increased its deliveries, particularly in Europe and the USA. Revenue grew by 14.4 percent to €34.2 billion, with an operating profit of €3.4 billion. At 10.0 percent, the operating return on sales was within the target corridor of 9 to 11 percent. Audi once again delivered a strong performance with fully electric models: The increase of over 50 percent to 75,647 vehicle deliveries proves that the Four Rings is on the right track with its systematic electrification strategy.
“Audi has shown a strong financial performance in the first six months and is fully within the target corridor for operating return on sales,” says Audi Chief Financial Officer Jürgen Rittersberger. “Despite major challenges, this is a very good basis for the upcoming model offensive with more than 20 new models, of which more than ten will be fully electric.” The Audi Q6 e-tron series will kick off the offensive and marks the first time that e-mobility will come from Ingolstadt.
Deliveries: Audi brand celebrates its best June of all time
In the first half of 2023, the brand group delivered a total of 919,548 vehicles. This corresponds to a significant increase of 15.3 percent compared to the previous-year period (797,587 vehicles). The Audi brand recorded a significant increase in deliveries (907,111 vehicles) of almost 16 percent in the first half of 2023 compared with the first half of 2022, thereby continuing its growth path. Audi achieved its best June ever in terms of customer deliveries, with a total of 182,075 vehicles sold.
The Audi brand is systematically continuing its growth path for electric models. In the first half of 2023, it delivered 75,647 (H1 2022: 50,033) fully electric models, with the Audi Q4 e-tron making the greatest contribution (+163.7 percent). Overall, this corresponds to growth of 51.2 percent. As a result, the share of electric vehicles in the brand group’s deliveries rose to 8.2 percent.
Significant growth in the USA and Europe
The Audi brand delivered a strong performance in Europe: In the first half of the year, the Four Rings delivered 380,476 vehicles, an increase of more than 24 percent compared to the previous-year period. Electric models also recorded significant growth of over 34 percent compared to the first half of 2022. The brand’s home market of Germany accounted for a significant share of this result, with an increase of 19.7 percent and 125,690 models delivered.
With 108,345 Audi models delivered in the first half of the year, Audi increased its deliveries in the USA by almost 30 percent, demonstrating very strong growth. In terms of deliveries of fully electric models, Audi achieved a record performance, particularly in the second quarter, increasing the BEV share of deliveries to 10 percent.
Second-best first half year in Audi’s history in China
Audi is also increasing deliveries in China: Deliveries of almost 330,000 vehicles represent an increase of more than 2 percent compared to the previous-year period. The upward trend in the second quarter of 2023 was unmistakable: Between April and June, the Four Rings recorded an increase of 20.4 percent in the number of vehicles delivered. With this delivery result, Audi successfully completed the second-best first half year in the history of Audi in China.
The Bentley, Lamborghini, and Ducati brands contributed significantly to the Group’s solid half-year figures.
In the first half of the year, Lamborghini delivered 5,341 (H1 2022: 5,090) vehicles, an improvement of 4.9 percent. Revenue increased due to higher sales volume, higher personalization and successful edition models significantly by 6.7 percent to €1,421 (H1 2022: 1,332) million, while operating profit increased by 7.2 percent to €456 (H1 2022: 425) million. Lamborghini improved its operating return on sales to a very strong 32.1 (H1 2022: 31.9) percent.
Ducati delivered 34,976 (H1 2022: 33,366) motorcycles for an increase of 4.8 percent. Due to higher volumes and an improved product mix, revenue increased by a strong 22.3 percent to €663 (H1 2022: 542) million. Operating profit increased by 70.9 percent to €116 (H1 2022: 68) million, while the return on sales was 17.6 percent (H1 2022: 12.6 percent).
The Audi Group’s financial result increased by 16.8 percent to €880 (H1 2022: 754) million, partly due to higher income from interest and securities. The Audi Group’s China business contributed €457 (H1 2022: 431) million to the financial result.
Profit after tax at the end of the first half of the year amounted to €3,262 (H1 2022: 4,390) million.
The Audi Group’s net cash flow in the first half of 2023 decreased to €1,882 (H1 2022: 2,593) million. The decrease is mainly due to lower profit after tax. Other reasons include increased inventories in preparation for the ambitious sales plan for the second half of the year, as well as investments in the upcoming model initiative.
Ambitious program to improve competitiveness
In 2030, the Audi Group is planning to generate a return on sales of around 14 percent per year. To achieve this goal, Audi has initiated an ambitious performance program. The main focus is on improving product profitability, especially for electric vehicles. Other measures include a strong revenue positioning, particularly in terms of price enforcement, aftersales, and new business models.