The Tesla Effect? The Wheels Fall Off the Audi Express As Sales PLUMMET 21% In April

A very weak showing for the A4 and A5. The boost from the A5 Sportback last year is now gone. Dealers are awaiting the new Q3 model, which describes the sharp fall in sales. A bigger problem for Audi is the weakness of the Q5 and Q7 given neither is particuarly outdated and isn't experiencing the gains Audi should expect given the surge in SUV sales.

Looks like Audi's stagnating exterior design strategy is finally taking a big toll on its sales.

You don’t have to be a genius to see Model 3 sales are crushing the life out of Audi’s A4 and A5. Up next is the Model Y taking sales directly away from those precious Q5 Audi sales. I would not want to be an Audi VP right now.

Do you have any data to support that Model 3 sales are taking sales away from the Audi A4 and A5 or are you basing that on your opinion instead of factual evidence?

Of course there is NO such data that indicates that Audi's decline had anything to do with the model 3 - or for that matter - any Tesla.

THis is just more FAKE news from the staff

Well...atleast the A8 sales are no longer 2 digits...Jesus this sales sheet looks more like a crime scene. Fire the design chief and start a new ASAP

A lot of Model 3 owners could have been A4/A5 owners. As someone who has rented an A4 many times (and likes the A4), it's a nobrainer to go with the Model 3. Just like the 3-series, the Model 3 is eating into to premium sales and even non-premium sales (Prius).

Again, SanJose, do you have any proof of this? Otherwise I will assume you are giving your opinion and have no factual data to back it up.

Both the Model 3 and BMW 3-series compete directly with the A4/A5. 3-series and A4 sales have been dropping as Model 3 sales are growing. The best evidence is that the BMW 3-series is the 2nd highest trade in for the Model 3. We only have the top 5, but I would not be surprised if the A4 was somewhere on the top trade-in list.

Also, the Model 3 is now outselling the 3-series, A4, C-class, Lexus IS, and Jag XE COMBINED in the US.

oxavier: I was thinking the same thing minus the f bomb

To me, luxury is being driven from freeway to freeway on a long commute, something no other car can do right now.

Ok:
A4 sales are down because the geniuses at Audi NA didn't order enough or ask for enough from Audi AG and dealers have very few to sell. Q5 sales are down because Audi NA management don't support the product like the "other" brands do, so you have to pay a premium to own an Audi over Lexus, BMW & Mercedes. (think about that one) Audi Management thinks that the problem is the "dealers" order the units with too many options, which is more ludicrous than the words to describe the abject stupidity. BMW & MB Q5 competition is all priced in the $51k-$56K range and all have lower payments, Audi blames dealers and says they should order stripped units to compete on price (tone deaf, dumb and ignorant suggestion). To add insult to injury, Audi NA has changed the dealers margins 3 times in 4 months on all sales, so pissed off dealers, mad dealer employees and uncompetitive programs ==LOWER SALES. Q3 is not going to fix anything more than incremental sales boost, A5 Q5 Q7 A4 are all down because AUDI NA & AG are thinking Audi dealers in the US need to pay for all the past mistakes of the liars and cheats that run the company. Audi is in a free fall and too arrogant to see it... stay tooned for more downward spirals, the loony toons are managing the AUDI NA company.

I am surprised at these results, considering the Q8 ADDED almost 1300 units to the numbers, with no previous year comparison. Otherwise, the brand would have been down much more significantly.

I believe there is also some migration to VW SUVs which have taken off. There may not be enough differentiation between VW and Audi to support the price gap.
When I bought my MB I really preferred the A4, but it was challenging to find one equipped the way I wanted and the dealer did not help. Add to that MB aggressively pursued a deal while Audi was "take it or leave it."

Also, what the hell does this have to do with tesla given the abysmal 1st quarter they had.
And Agent009, before you completely commit yourself to promoting Tesla all the time keep in mind that Elon has heavily leveraged his stock to borrow about $1 billion. Once the stock goes below $213/share his psotion will likely a margin call. This will in turn cause the stock to tumble like a pedestrian hit by a self driving Tesla. Several former bulls are saying the new normal for Tesla stock is in the $180 - 200 range. It is down 2 percent today.

What does this have to do with Tesla? WHERE do you think the A4/A3 and other sedan sales going to?

Again, for the 100th time. We get NO direct advertising dollars from Tesla (certainly we get ad network $$ on clicks) and we hold NO Tesla stock positions. Although I'm thinking of buying some on the next large drop and if I do I will certainly alert our readers.

We simply see trends LONG before the others.

I will publicly make this prediction I've been sharing privately for the last 6 months...

"10 years from today the mainstream German car manufacturers will be as irrelevant in the car business as the English and the Italians. Driving dynamics have taken a back seat to innovative tech. The Germans cannot win at that game, nor will any other Non-American company. Oh, and I only have a 20 year streak of being right on my auto predictions."

001

'001' - how many friends do you have who drive Model 3's? What did they drive before they got their Model 3?

I have 7 friends who have Model 3's (only 5 of them drive their's because the other two friends' Model 3's are in the shop for two months due to defects..but that's for another post).

Out of those 7 friends - three were "Prius" drivers; three were Subaru drivers; one had a Macan.

In the NYC/New England area - I would postulate that the #1 cross-shopped car for the Model 3 was a Subaru (Crosstrek or WRX mostly). My Model 3 cohort are male, outdoorsy, affluent but not showy, and really into the environment (even though they tend to be over-housed).

Also, they don't really drive that much - the group skews 'urban'.

Anyone else have observations?

The BMW 3-Series and Audi A3/A4 set of people are IMO, lease-payment focused and are not really that affluent (i.e. they cannot really afford a Model 3's higher up front costs) and also the charging aspect of a Model 3 is challenge for them, because they park on the street. All my Model 3 friends have a dedicated garage space with charging.

Model 3 is a novelty purchase for eco-poseurs, IMO.

@Agent001 - That is a bold prediction. I would have only picked Ford to be around in 10 years vs GM or FCA. And while Tesla understands the tech side of things quite well and is delivering products that sell, I have not seen anything from the big 3 that shows they are at the same level of understanding (yet). Either way the next 5-10 years in the auto business will be anything but dull or boring. While I believe there will be a car for the people who can't put down their phone, for those who strive in school and at work and are successful, there will also be a market for something better, as their is right now.

"...his position will likely trigger a margin call."

Audi must not be cooking their numbers like they used to.

And Teslas are cooking the asphalt or parking garage or whatever.

Matt said: Audi must not be cooking their numbers like they used to.
Rick said: Matt, you are in the car biz so you are on the front lines.
You KNOW that cars sales are in a downward trend for all makes and models. While I agree with your post, nothing goes up for ever ... unless you are a Tesla fanboy >>> which you are not

Audi was using "creative loopholes" to give the appearance of nonstop sales growth.

Manufacturers ROUTINELY count as sales vehicles that they have pushed off their lot, but which are not necessarily sold to anyone.

We're offering amazing deals on Escapes because Ford has enough on hand for about 4.5 months of sales and orders for the new Escape is in 3 months.

Ford has a lot of dealer money on the Escapes to motivate us to give the appearance of selling below invoice.

Remember that invoice is what the dealer pays for the vehicle, but that's not the real invoice. So I buy the car from Ford for $15K, but when I sell it Ford gives me a $5K bonus, then the real invoice was $10K. The handy dandy apps are not accurate on dealer money all the time.

@Agent001 - I believe the opposite will happen. Tesla may still be a company, but they won't be making cars in ten years. Once the Germans start electrifying everything (which is one of my worst nightmares) and become established as electric car manufacturers, they will crush Tesla into oblivion. They are well established companies that everyone knows and respects, and they have way more capital to streamline the manufacturing and keep their costs lower. Tesla is a fad, and one that will soon be out of style.

Nothing is pointing towards Tesla being a fad, at least not yet. Sales have been up sequentially every single year since the Model S.

The new Audi interior and particularly the dashboard is incredibly ugly

Q3 sales are way down

This is rather silly - the Model 3 "current sales" are not current at all - they were made months and years ago by those who got on the waiting list and are now taking deliveries, not executing sales. Comparing these numbers to any other vehicle without a waiting list is just plain stupid. If you want to check out Tesla real sales - look at the sales of the Model S and Model X, which have been clobbered by Jaguar I Pace and Porsche Taycan and Audi e-tron sales in Europe - sales of Model S and X have literally fallen off a cliff - down over 50%. So where's that fabulous "Tesla effect", huh ? Write realistic articles, not Tesla PR.

The backlog for the US is completely gone considering they released all planned variants of the Model 3 and you can get a car delivered in a day in California. So sales are legit even by the standard you claim.

Mark Del Rosso head of Audi of America is out effective immediately.

Any link? I can't seem to pull it up anywhere.

They notified all the dealers less than hour ago. It'll hit the net soon..

https://www.autonews.com/executives/audi-us-chief-del-rosso-resigns