Traditional manufacturers are presenting their balance sheets for the first half of 2022. A year marked by supply problems, which have weighed down production, the war in Ukraine, and the closures due to Covid in China. Factors that have not been a problem for an Audi that has achieved a significant profit and a striking margin per unit sold.
And it is that even though there is talk of a contraction in production, the figures show a curious effect. In the first half of 2022, Audi has sold 20% fewer cars worldwide than in the same period in 2021, earning 29.9 billion euros, 2% more. But its net profits have grown by 58% from 3,100 billion to 4,900 billion euros. The same dynamic is followed by the margin per unit sold, which has jumped from 10.7% to 16.5%, 54.2% more than last year.
This is possible thanks according to Audi’s “good price position, the strong operating performance of the luxury brands Lamborghini and Bentley, and the support of the coverage of raw materials .”
Another factor that is helping to weather the storm more easily than expected is the strong growth in sales of electric cars, which have seen demand soar with the rise in fuel prices in Europe.
These have increased their figures to 50,033 units between January and June. An increase of 52.7% compared to the first half of 2021 figures will undoubtedly reinforce Audi’s electrification strategy.
Among the models, the Audi q4 e-Tron has so far been the most popular in sales, surpassing the e-Tron, achieving 11,655 units sold so far, for the 10,344 units of the larger SUV. Something that tells us that the cheapest proposal, as expected, is managing to increase volumes. For its part, the Audi E-Tron GT has remained at 1,938 units between January and July, far from the 4,900 units that its brother, the Porsche Taycan, has achieved.
In this context, the share of pure electric cars within Audi remains low at 6.3%. A figure that will possibly grow in the second half given the dynamics of the market is leaning towards electrification.
Audi’s main problem is that its new releases are still a long way off. The A4 e-Tron will not arrive until 2024, while the model that is expected to occupy the lowest price step, the A3 e-Tron, will not do so until 2026 at the earliest. A family that will also grow with the Q6 e-Tron, the A6 e-tron… but which is at least two years away from its start-up.
