Audi Sales Remain Strong With A 14.5% Jump In April Sales

Audi today reported April 2013 sales of 13,157 vehicles, a 14.2% increase over the previous April record set last year. April stands as the 28th consecutive month of record sales for the brand.

Audi year-to-date sales through the end of April 2013 were 15.5% above the pace set a year earlier when Audi finished with record annual results in the U.S. Sales in April 2013 were only exceeded by the sales of 14,841 vehicles in December 2012 and 13,253 vehicles in March 2013.

Sales of Audi premium category vehicles (Audi A8, Audi A7, Audi A6, and Audi Q7) increased 23% YTD, and represent 32% of total Audi sales YTD. Demand for the Audi flagship cars the Audi A8 and S8 sedans, jumped 30% while the Audi Q5 luxury SUV posted a 32% gain for the month. Audi momentum also benefitted strongly from robust demand for the Audi Q7, which generated a 33% sales increase for the month, and a 44% increase above sales in the January-April 2012 period.

“Audi shows no sign of slowing down in the U.S. market, and April clearly demonstrated that fact,” said Mark Del Rosso, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Audi of America. “To record the third-best sales totals ever in the traditionally fickle month of April is a remarkable achievement for our brand.”

Highlights:
• Sales mix for Audi S performance variants finished the month at 17% for the S4 sedan; 39% for the S5/ RS 5 Coupe; 27% for the S5/ RS 5 Cabriolet; 10% for the S6; 21% for the S7; 22% for the S8; 52% for the TTS / TT RS coupe and 41% for the TTS Roadster.
• Audi A5 sales up 27% compared to April 2012; YTD sales grew 13% compared to previous period.
• Sales of Audi A6 increased 22% compared to April 2012; YTD sales grew 22% compared to previous period.
• Sales of the Audi A8 increased 30% compared to April 2012; YTD sales grew 36% compared to previous period.
• Sales of the Audi Q5 increased 32% compared to April 2012; YTD sales grew 36% compared to previous period.
• Sales of the Audi Q7 increased 33% compared to April 2012; YTD sales grew 44% compared to previous period.
• Audi sold 468 allroad models in April, bringing YTD sales to 1,758 of the sport wagon.
• Sales mix for Audi TDI clean diesel models finish the month at 9% for the A3 TDI and 29% for Q7 TDI. A3 sales in April 2013 were down substantially as the brand prepares for the arrival of the all-new A3 sedan in early 2014.
• For the record-setting month of April 2013, five Audi models recorded year-over-year sales increases of 20% or more, including the Audi A5, Audi A6, Audi A8, Audi Q5 and Audi Q7.
• Audi Certified pre-owned sales increased 14% to 3,257 vehicles in April; YTD increased 6% to 12,311 vehicles sold.

GermanNut - 5/1/2013 1:37:48 PM

0 Boost

Audi has incredibly strong momentum in the U.S. market with sales up 15.5% YTD.

With the recent sales launch of the A8 TDI clean diesel model combined with the upcoming sales launch of the Q5, A6 and A7 TDI clean diesel models in the fall of 2013, Audi should continue to see robust sales growth for the rest of the year.

cidflekken - 5/1/2013 3:06:08 PM

+1 Boost

It's like a broken record. "Audi gaining momentum" "Audi looking strong" "Audi setting records" Yet, they still trail, by a wide margin, the Big Three.

Agent009 - 5/1/2013 3:59:27 PM

0 Boost

The big who?

GermanNut - 5/1/2013 3:29:08 PM

-1 Boost

Audi could very easily close the gap with BMW and Mercedes-Benz more than it already has but it refuses to use large incentives across its product range in order to increase sales.

Audi prefers to keep prices high and preserve its bottom line by achieving growth through brand image, quality, innovation, technology and performance rather than through price which would erode its profit margin.

Agent009 - 5/1/2013 4:01:50 PM

+1 Boost

Also I think they want controlled growth vs rampant growth where quality control becomes difficult. Also I'm not sure their supply chain can go much faster than it already is.

cidflekken - 5/1/2013 3:46:12 PM

0 Boost

Come on, Nuttie. Yes, I agree that across-the-board incentives are more prevalent with the others, but even the cars where Audi is offering enticing lease deals aren't even close to competitive in their respective segments.

GermanNut - 5/1/2013 5:06:35 PM

-1 Boost

Cidflekken, your point that even the models Audi is offering enticing lease deals on aren't even close to competitive in their respective segments has to do with the fact that these specific Audi models (A4) are significantly older than their competitors.

Audi is offering special lease deals on mainly the A4, which is at the end of its current life cycle. A brand-new 2015 A4 will launch next year.

009, Audi's new plant in Mexico will increase production capacity of the Q5 SUV, which should help alleviate some of the strains in the supply chain.

cidflekken - 5/1/2013 6:58:53 PM

+2 Boost

So, Nuttie, what happened when the A4 was at the beginning of its cycle? And Audi is offering deals on the A6 as well, which is a year old, and has sold this year what the E and 5 sell in a month. Also, with your argument, and "cycle/age logic", why did the prior C and 3 beat the "newer" A4 handily?

cidflekken - 5/1/2013 7:01:25 PM

+1 Boost

009, if they have "supply chain" concerns, why are they offering lease deals on the volume-driven models? Doesn't correlate.

Also, and not to be sarcastic, but if "quality control" is the reason for slow production, considering Audi's poor showing in many of the quality surveys and reliability tests, how much slower does it need to get to improve the those results?

GermanNut - 5/1/2013 7:25:48 PM

-1 Boost

The A4 was not as heavily discounted when it was first released. The lease deals on the A6 are not as steep as on the E-class and 5-series. Globally, the A6 has been the number one selling vehicle in its class.

The C-class and 3-series beat the "newer" A4 handily because the 3-series has dominated the segment for a very long time and also because Mercedes-Benz and BMW offer huge incentives on the C-class and 3-series respectively.

By quality, Agent 009 is referring to overall "quality" of product in terms of perceived levels of innovation, brand image, technology, performance and luxury not number of defects per 1,000 cars or some other Survey ranking.

cidflekken - 5/2/2013 1:37:48 PM

+1 Boost

So, in other words, Nuttie, you can't use the A4's age as its reason for lagging behind in sales. Don't contradict yourself. The A4 has been consistently offered under a very competitive lease program for at least 2 years now and it's still not competitive. Same for the A6. I started pricing and shopping in mid-2011, so am well aware of the deals that were being offered.

And no. "Quality control" as 009 stated is not what you described.

GermanNut - 5/2/2013 1:55:19 PM

0 Boost

The A4 just received a refresh. When the current model first came out way back in 2009, Audi didn't try to sell the farm like BMW does as soon as its 3-series goes on sale.

The deals on the A6 are nowhere close to the huge deals you can get on a brand-new 5-series. You're obviously NOT well aware of the deals being offered.

"Quality control" that Agent009 is referring to is more closely related to my interpretation of overall brand quality than defects per 1,000 vehicles or the results from some quality study like JD Power & Associates. If you were aware, you would know that recalls are NOT counted in JD Power's reliability rankings.

Furthermore, in the JD Power 2013 Vehicle Dependability Study, Audi came in at 147 and BMW at 133. Mercedes-Benz came in at 115. The gap is not large enough for Audi to start worrying that it's "quality control" in the way you interpret it, will fall in its quest to increase sales.

I'll give you an example, as BMW sells its profitability away to increase 3-series sales the brand "image" of BMW goes down. When your hairdresser can afford a 3-series due to the huge incentives BMW is offering, the image of BMW goes down in the eyes of other consumers. THIS is what Agent 009 is referring to.

I look forward to giving you and Firewombat more lessons in the future.

Firewombat - 5/2/2013 3:50:45 PM

0 Boost

This from @Gnut who thinks Audi is Europe's top employer and even posted an article on it! ROFL!!! Please, read the post, it's really something.

GermanNut - 5/2/2013 4:00:46 PM

+2 Boost

According to Audi Media Services, that is precisely the case.

How old are you by the way, Firewombat? I would say 18 and living in your parent's basement.

Firewombat - 5/2/2013 4:04:23 PM

0 Boost

Let's all believe exactly what car companies tell us and then post it on blogs without question... at least, that's what you would do if you were immature enough

GermanNut - 5/2/2013 4:45:28 PM

+2 Boost

I post Audi news because I enjoy it. The headline maybe misleading, but there is no hard data to go by (like in the BMW monthly sales article) where Agent00R got called out for writing a completely misleading headline.

The "Audi Top Employer" headline depends on your interpretation of the European countries that should be considered in the total unlike the BMW article that had clear numbers.

It's a grey area, but there is no other hard data to use for comparison purposes so I'll just go with what Audi wrote.

Firewombat - 5/3/2013 2:58:06 AM

0 Boost

I don't know what BMW has to do with this Gnut?

It was an article about Audi? Is that what you do every time some criticizes you?

You don't respond to the criticism, you just try to bring another car manufacturer down? Not very mature.

There are loads of number and figures to compare, studies about the top employers in each European country etc.

But maybe you'll think carefully about the story and it's headline before you post again, which is probably a good thing considering how biased you are.

GermanNut - 5/2/2013 4:46:36 PM

+2 Boost

If there were hard numbers that could be used for comparison then I would analyze the figures more carefully before posting.