Audi’s European sales dropped by a massive 55.5% in September, compared to the same period last year, due to supply bottlenecks caused by the introduction of WLTP rules.
Globally, sales for the German automaker have gone down 22% last month, the hardest hit being sustained in Germany, with approximately 69.4% fewer models getting moved. Meanwhile, UK sales went down 53.6%, with France, Italy and Spain registering 52.6%, 52% and 59.4% fewer sales respectively.
The only positives were a 24.6% boost in Mexico, a 12.5% increase in China and an 0.2% increase in the United States, with Audi of America achieving its 93rd consecutive record-braking month, thanks mostly to the new Q5 crossover generating above-average demand among U.S. customers.
In China, models such as the A4 and A8 achieved double-digit gains last month, while sales of the Q3, Q5 and Q7 increased to 162,329 units since the start of the year.
“We expected challenging months and are responding actively to the situation,” stated Bram Schot, temporary Chairman of the Board of Management and board member for sales and marketing at Audi. “Week after week we once again have more engine/transmission variants in our portfolio and the feedback on our new models is very positive.”
Despite these harsh numbers for September, Audi still expects its year-end deliveries to be at roughly the same level as last year. Also worth noting is that, as of September 1st, legal conditions state that automakers in Germany can only register 10% of their prior-year volume of cars, approved according to the previous NEDC test method.
