CFO Jürgen Rittersberger said on Friday in Ingolstadt that semiconductor supply improved in the third quarter, but is unlikely to run smoothly next year.
Companies and customers have struggled with rising costs: “It won’t leave us unaffected,” Rittersberger said. The Volkswagen Group subsidiary expects deliveries of just 1.65 to 1.75 million vehicles and sales of between 60 and 63 billion euros this year – around 150,000 fewer cars and two billion euros less in sales than previously planned. However, between 11 and 13 percent, the return on sales should be 2 percentage points higher than previously expected.
Rittersberger said the order books are very well filled. Car buyers would have to wait an average of six months for a new car from Audi. He expects demand to be higher than production next year. That’s why prices stay stable and high, there are almost no discounts, and rental yields have residual values as good as used cars. On the other hand, costs, especially energy costs, have increased significantly. In addition, deals in the upper range are expected in the current round of collective bargaining.
In the third quarter, the Audi brand increased its deliveries by 12 percent to 408,000 vehicles. Sales increased by a third to 14.7 billion euros. Operating result almost doubled from 0.7 to 1.3 billion euros.
In the first nine months of the year, vehicle deliveries of just under 1.2 million were still down 11 percent from the previous year. However, sales rose 10 percent to 44.6 billion euros, and the operating result to 6.25 billion euros. Audi’s Lamborghini and Ducati brands and the luxury brand Bentley, which was consolidated for the first time within Audi, also contributed to this.
(SDA)