Audi is navigating a complex and challenging market landscape while advancing significant product launches and strategic initiatives. The company’s financial results from the first nine months of 2024 reveal pressures on volume and revenue but also underline measures being taken to enhance efficiency and competitiveness throughout 2025.
Market Context and Delivery Performance
In early 2024, Audi delivered approximately 1.25 million vehicles across its brand group, which includes Bentley and Lamborghini, marking a 10.9 percent decrease compared to the previous year. Deliveries of Audi-branded vehicles alone stood at 1,235,590 units, reflecting similar declines driven by tough market conditions, heightened competition, and supply chain constraints, particularly limited parts availability.
Audi’s electric vehicle deliveries, totaling 115,788 units, experienced a smaller decline of 5.9 percent, indicating resilience amid broader market headwinds. Regional variation was notable — in Europe, deliveries fell by 9.8 percent, with electric vehicle sales down 4.6 percent but showing growth in markets like Italy, France, and the UK. The United States faced steeper challenges with a 16.8 percent decline in vehicle deliveries, attributed to logistics and parts supply issues. In China, Audi reduced deliveries by 8.5 percent as the market undergoes major transformation and the brand repositions with an expanded portfolio.
Strategic Initiatives for Growth and Efficiency
Audi’s leadership emphasizes a dual focus on increasing operational efficiency while accelerating new model introductions. CFO Jürgen Rittersberger highlighted the Performance Program 14, an initiative targeting both cost reduction and revenue growth to strengthen Audi’s financial health. This includes streamlining organizational structures and refining production capabilities to enhance flexibility and innovation speed.
The company’s CEO, Gernot Döllner, reiterated Audi’s commitment to “achieving the extraordinary” despite a tougher competitive environment. This commitment is underpinned by launching multiple new models such as updates to the A5 and Q5 families and upcoming introductions like the Audi Q5 Sportback in late 2024 and the A7 in early 2025. These fresh models aim to rejuvenate Audi’s portfolio, strengthen market appeal, and attract new customer segments.
Transformation through Electrification and Technological Realignment
Audi’s transition strategy includes bolstering its electric vehicle lineup while maintaining combustion offerings in the short term. The rollout of diverse powertrains, from mild hybrids to fully electric models, supports this approach. To optimize product development efficiency, Audi has realigned its Technical Development division and refined its product strategy to focus on streamlined innovation, cost efficiency, and quicker time-to-market cycles.
Collaborations within the Volkswagen Group and partnerships with joint ventures like FAW and SAIC in China reinforce Audi’s capability to expand electric vehicle production and tailor offerings to local market preferences. The new production plant in Changchun for fully electric vehicles exemplifies this localization strategy crucial to future growth, particularly in the world’s largest automotive market.
Outlook and Future Prospects
Despite near-term volume challenges, Audi’s strategic focus on efficiency gains, market-specific tailoring, and an ambitious electrification plan positions the brand well for a robust recovery and sustainable growth. The model launches planned for 2025 and beyond are expected to impact sales and profitability positively, especially as supply chain bottlenecks resolve and demand for EVs accelerates.
Audi’s proactive approach to change management within the company—through measures such as the Audi Agenda—reflects a comprehensive effort to realign corporate culture, improve organizational agility, and foster innovation. This readiness to adapt is critical in maintaining Audi’s premium brand status and competitive edge as the global automotive market evolves rapidly.
In summary, Audi’s financial performance through 2024 underscores the challenges of a transitioning industry landscape, yet its strategic initiatives and product pipeline provide a foundation for renewed success in 2025 and beyond.
