Photo: Stefan Baldauf / Guido ten Brink
Against the backdrop of what is shaping up to be a great year for being in the car making business, those instances when carmakers are posting negative sales figures for 2018 are rare.
Even so, such cases do exist, and among the first auto brand to say it lost some customers over the past 12 months is Audi. The brand with the four rings is, for now, the only one in the Volkswagen group to add a minus sign in front of last year’s percentages.
For short, Audi sold in 2018 a total of 1,812,500 cars, a number that represents a decrease of 3.5 percent over 2017. The reasons for this, says Audi, are the switch to the new Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure (WLTP) test cycle in Europe, "numerous political and economic uncertainties," as well as the most extensive model revisions in recent years.
The WLTP was introduced last year, but given the fact that it coming into force was known for a long time, it didn’t affect other companies as much. The brands in the Volkswagen group seem to have been hit harder by it though.
“As expected, 2018 has proven extremely challenging with the largest model and technology campaign in Audi’s history – coinciding with the switch to the new WLTP test cycle,” said in a statement Bram Schot, Audi’s CEO.
“The positive feedback from our latest models demonstrates our brand’s strength, while we prepare for the new challenges ahead this year.”
China remained Audi’s best market, and the single one to have posted growth. Audi sold there 663,049 vehicles, a 10.9 percent increase over 2017.
In Europe and the U.S., the results are negative. 13.6 percent of new Audi cars were sold on the Old Continent (743,600 units), while in the States 223,323 units amounted to a 1.4 percent drop.
It’s not clear yet how much Audi’s negative results will weigh in the overall performance of the Volkswagen Group.
For short, Audi sold in 2018 a total of 1,812,500 cars, a number that represents a decrease of 3.5 percent over 2017. The reasons for this, says Audi, are the switch to the new Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure (WLTP) test cycle in Europe, "numerous political and economic uncertainties," as well as the most extensive model revisions in recent years.
The WLTP was introduced last year, but given the fact that it coming into force was known for a long time, it didn’t affect other companies as much. The brands in the Volkswagen group seem to have been hit harder by it though.
“As expected, 2018 has proven extremely challenging with the largest model and technology campaign in Audi’s history – coinciding with the switch to the new WLTP test cycle,” said in a statement Bram Schot, Audi’s CEO.
“The positive feedback from our latest models demonstrates our brand’s strength, while we prepare for the new challenges ahead this year.”
China remained Audi’s best market, and the single one to have posted growth. Audi sold there 663,049 vehicles, a 10.9 percent increase over 2017.
In Europe and the U.S., the results are negative. 13.6 percent of new Audi cars were sold on the Old Continent (743,600 units), while in the States 223,323 units amounted to a 1.4 percent drop.
It’s not clear yet how much Audi’s negative results will weigh in the overall performance of the Volkswagen Group.
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