Audi Continues To Defy The Industry Sales Trend With A 2.5% Increase In July

What makes Audi's July 2017 sales performance extremely impressive is that it registered a 2.5% year-over-year increase despite a 15% decline in the Q5, its best-selling model. Once the new Q5's inventory increases, Audi should see even stronger growth.

This proves that Audi's strength is widespread given the Q7 sales skyrocketed 44% and the new A5 surged 203% due to the addition of the Sportback variant.

With the tech-loaded A8 and new A7 set to go on sale next year and the Q8 and all-electric eTron also added to the model lineup, Audi's future looks very strong.

Most importantly, Audi is now outperforming the broader premium market in the U.S and has returned to growth in China. If Audi can continue to grow in the U.S. and China, it will spell trouble for the competition.

I think it's always great to sound positive, for instance, a comment about a company you love or work for may include:

"sales performance extremely impressive"
"strength is widespread"
"sales skyrocketed"
"future looks very strong"
"will spell trouble for the competition"

Great products always find an audience. Audi makes great cars.

A5 to the rescue

There are people who believe in "perpetual motion machines." Some of them report the uninterrupted 79 consecutive months of Audi sales increases, unaffected by anything nature has to throw at them. Color me a deep shade of skeptical.

Be skeptical all you want, Steve, but the data proves that Audi has managed to release vehicles that buyers want to buy and it has managed its inventory very well to ensure that happens over the last 6 years and 7 months uninterrupted.

While its competitors like BMW and Mercedes-Benz experience falling YTD sales and in BMW's case, double-digits monthly drops, Audi just keeps on growing.

It all boils down to products and the ownership experience. Audi is proving that its combination of luxury, technological innovation, value proposition and service is winning over buyers.

Since you're a 2012 Q5 owner, I recommend you test-drive a 2018 model. Make sure it has the Audi Virtual Cockpit option. Maybe you'll see how much Audi has advanced the Q5 since your model and realize why the brand has been able to achieve the success that it has.

@GermaNut would you be able to organise that test drive for him or? Are there any lease specials or discounts the client should be aware of?

GermanNut: I offer these facts for your consideration:

1) I don’t own a 2012 Q5. Never have.

2) The vehicle I own is a diesel. I can’t get those anymore in North America. And I LOVE my diesel! According to my meticulous calculations since day-1 of ownership, I’ve saved between 36.5% to 39.9% in per-mile operating costs vs a comparable gasoline-powered vehicle. That’s huge!

3) Besides being cheap to drive if I treat my car gently, it’s also tremendously powerful. It has a massive 428 ft-lbs of torque and a 0-62 MPH time of ~6.5 seconds. That’s muscle-car territory! With a gasoline-powered equivalent, I’d need to get a bigger, thirstier engine for that performance. Diesel gives me the best of both worlds: Great fuel economy AND great power, and you’re proposing I give that up? Meh.

4) I just don’t care for the look of anything Audi sells today. I DON’T claim they’re horrible, or that anyone else shouldn’t like them. I merely reveal that *I* don’t like the look, inside or out. That’s a show-stopper for me.

5) I’m not a gamer. I don’t play video games. I don’t care for dashboards that look like a video game. This does NOT mean that virtual gauge clusters are automatically bad. It does mean I’ve seen the 2018 Q5’s virtual gauge cluster, and meh. It demos nicely for gamers, but is not something that appeals to me. I prefer a well laid out and designed analog dash over a poorly executed virtual one.

6) Today’s Audi Q5 is packaged with stuff I don’t want. It has roughly $4,000 in options that I choose to avoid for reason that are relevant to me. The thought pains me of paying $4,000 for stuff I hate, but I’d have to take… just because it’s an “all or nothing” proposition. That’s the way Audi sells it. Again, that’s a show-stopper for me.

7) Once you come to accept the idea that other people have different preferences than you, and they make their decisions based on what THEY prefer, then you’ll begin to understand why your suggestion of (paraphrased) “just try it and you’ll see how freakishly awesome it is” rings hollow for many people. It’s like an EV lover trying to push an EV to someone who isn’t in the market for an EV. Yeah, it’s what YOU like. I don’t. I’m okay with you liking what you like, but evidently, you’ve very not okay when people disagree with you.

TheSteve, if you don't like the new 2018 Q5, that's fine, I understand your reasoning. However, the 2018 Q5 goes 0-60 mph in 5.9 seconds with a 4-cylinder gasoline engine that gets 23 mpg city and 27 mpg highway for a combined 25 mpg.

https://www.audiusa.com/models/audi-q5

For comparison, your Q5 goes 0-60 mph in 6.5 seconds (0.6 seconds slower) and gets 24 mpg city and 31 mpg highway for a combined 27.5 mpg.

I think this makes it clear that Audi's 4-cylinder gasoline engine has improved to the point where it is quite a bit faster than your TDI engine, while coming close to matching the fuel economy.

Again, it's fine if you don't like the new Q5, but the numbers above show improvement on Audi's part in terms of acceleration and fuel economy.

@Steve I agree with your comments about the performance / economy capabilities of your diesel, it just can't be matched with a regular ICE.

So in summation, that's a no on the test drive?

GermanNut: Again, you are citing your *BELIEFS* and not facts. You allege “…your Q5 gets 24 mpg city and 31 mpg highway for a combined 27.5 mpg…” Bunk! My meticulously kept records since day 1 of ownership reveal that I get a TRUE (not EPA claimed) combined fuel economy of 36.58 MPG (US), and pure highway driving with a best tank at close to 52 MPG (!!!), and typically getting around 45 MPG US on the highway.

Hmmmm. My real 36.58 MPG of mixed driving vs the new Q’s claimed 25 MPG. My real and typical 45 MPG on the highway vs the new Q’s claimed 27 MPG. My cheaper diesel fuel vs the new Q’s required and more expensive premium gasoline. I know the new Q5 looks like a winner for you, but my math is different.

Note that I am NOT alleging “my car is better than the new Q5” (even though you seem to be firmly asserting that the new Q5 is better). I am saying my current drive is a LOT better ***FOR ME*** than the new Q5. Besides having MUCH lower operating costs – a quantifiable and objective fact – there are also the subjective factors I mention in my earlier post that make the new Q5 is a non-even for me.

You seem not to be able to differentiate “it doesn’t work well for Steve” versus “but it’s clearly superior… in my (GermanNut’s) mind.” There is the source of your turmoil, and your need to be right.

FireWombat writes “…So in summation, that's a no on the test drive [for the new Q5]?...”

Correct. The new Q5 does not works for me at all. I’m also not in the market to replace my current SUV, so why test drive another, especially if it doesn’t inspire me?

FYI, I’m gaga about a Porsche 911, but I’m not going for a test drive there, either, until my finances make owning one a possibility.

I'm not surprised at the success of the A5. If the breakdown was by coupe and sportback models, I'd guess it's almost 60/40 in favour of the sportback. When I saw that at the Autoshow in Feb, I said it'll be a very popular model, and I've seen quite a few on the roads (both A5 and S5 variants).
I'm guessing the Q5 will see a raise in sales over the remainder of the year.

So, while 79 consecutive months is or appears to be impressive, what does it really mean in the big picture?

Six years ago, July 2011, Audi's sales were 9,146 units and YTD at that time was 65,055.
Six year ago, July 2011, Mercedes sales were 21,065 units and YTD was 139,086.
The YTD variance between Audi and Mercedes for 2011 was 74,031.

Today, Audi's July 2017 sales were 18k units and YTD 121k.
Today, Mercedes' July 2017 sales were 25k units and YTD 187k.
The YTD variance between Audi and Mercedes for 2017 is 66,000.

Audi's growth rate in the past 6 years was 86% while Mercedes' was 34.5%. Despite a growth rate 1.5x higher than Mercedes, Audi still trails. And, like Mercedes and BMW, Audi's growth rate will decrease as already demonstrated numerous times over the past couple of years where their YOY growth was down to a couple of hundred cars.

So, all you math geniuses, at these rates, when will Audi ever truly catch up?

The point is Audi is taking market share in the United States and has been for the least 6 years and 7 months consecutively. As a company, you want to increase your sales, not see them decline. If sales decline, the only way you increase your profitability is by reducing costs more than the decline in revenue. That's not a way to run a company.

Well, no kidding, Nuttie. You state the obvious. But it's also easier to go up when you start from the bottom vs. being a top seller for decades.

The way to "not run a company" is for it not to be in the middle of a global management crisis

Well it is after all an $18K "Jetta" masquerading as a $36K Audi, so even with $10K off, you're still overpaying for your VW.

Please name the dealership near you as I will go and pick one up. The Audi dealerships in Raleigh,North Carolina are not offering anything like that. You are lucky to not to pay sticker. You can pretend that they will call you and lower the price all you want and you will go back in a week and the car will be sold.

Please tell us the dealership you're walking into and paying above sticker for an Audi

Please tell me as well because I want to invest into that dealer. NO premium brand sells at or above list.

I didn't say above i said sticker. There are two dealerships in the area both owned by Leith. Audi Raleigh and Audi Cary. You guys need to stop with the b.s. You can't go to any dealership and get 10k off a new Audi or any other car from Germany. If you said 1k, that would have been believable. You might get a deal on a v12 A8 that is left over from the year before in Jan. You guys just love to hate on Audi, we all know that.

This is a link to the Audi Raleigh page and all of the cars that they have on special. First one is an A7 with $6k discount. They have loads of lease specials too.

http://www.audiraleigh.com/featured-vehicles/new.htm

@BW5011 You can EASILY get $10K off an Audi.

That's a 16 A7. I am going to look at this car over the weekend and see why its still there. I didn't see anything else. They had a 16 A8L with nice discount but i didn't see it yesterday. I haven't seen this A7 unless it is inside, which i doubt. I usually order my cars unless i can fly and get it from some state for the same or less money. Still 6k off a A7 is a long ways from 10k off an A3.

Look at me, I selling Audis :)

It's doubtful you'll get $10k off an A3. The A8 maybe. I've seen sales from all manufacturers with "up-to" $17k. The Germans offer $10k + on their top tier when it's YE. I'm sure when Audi new A8 is closer to being in production and orders being taken, there will be HUGE discounts on the hood.
Lower end models - A3/4, 2/3 series, B/C class, I've seen advertised with $500 to $1,500 off (manufacturer offer), plus another $500 to $1,000 from the dealer.

Getting several thousand off an A3 is simple. You ASK for it. If you're paying list or near list for ANY premium vehicle, you're stunningly bad at negotiation.

Not sure about several '000, but get a couple isn't hard.
At least I can't get huge discounts (over $5k) on an A3 in the Greater Toronto Area.