Audi made an unexpected move with electric vehicles by slowing down the introduction of new products. With the consumption of electric vehicles has become a definite trend, this decision has sparked heated discussions from the outside world.
According to Germany's **December 19**, in order to avoid the burden on factories and dealers caused by the slowdown in sales growth caused by product switching, Audi has slowed down the launch of electric vehicles. "The first thing we think about is the order and density of releases that the organization can afford. In the end, we decided to spread out so as not to overwhelm the team and dealers. Audi CEO Gernot D llner said that in the short term, it will continue to promote internal combustion engines and plug-in hybrid vehicles.
Under the Volkswagen Group's radical transformation strategy, Audi has also maintained a high-speed shift in electric vehicles. In 2021, the Audi Group unveiled its "Vorsprung 2030" strategy. According to the plan at that time, from 2026 onwards, Audi's new models for the global market will be fully electricBy 2033, Audi will phase out the production of internal combustion enginesAccelerate the construction of a comprehensive EV ecosystem with new operating systems and software platforms to enable autonomous driving by 2025Expand the scope of after-sales service to intelligent hardware and advanced maintenance and other fields.
However, due to the loss of the chain of software development of the Volkswagen Group, Audi's electric vehicle products have been repeatedly postponed. Among them, Audi's new flagship model, which is a key product, is currently being developed under the artemis project, which has now been pushed to 2027, three years later than originally planned. The Di Q6 e-tron has also suffered two delays, and the release time has reached 2024. Because of such large fluctuations in products, Audi is also facing challenges in the electric vehicle market.
In terms of sales volume, in 2022, Audi sold 161420,000 units, of which more than 110,000 electric vehicles were delivered, an increase of 44% compared to 2021. Entering 2023, Audi sold 138 in the first three quarters70,000 units, up 16% year-on-year, of which 12% were electrified30,000 units, up 60% year-on-year. During the same period, sales of BMW and Mercedes-Benz electric models have increased to 21 respectively70,000 and 17At 450,000 units, Audi's electrified sales are significantly lower than the previous two.
At the same time, the entire EV market is changing dramatically. In 2023, the demand for electric vehicles for pure electric vehicles in the United States continued to fall in November, returning to 890,000 units, with a penetration rate of 7 pure electric vehicles3%。In terms of plug-in hybrids, the overall sales volume in the U.S. market in November was 2330,000 units, and total sales of plug-in hybrids from January to November were 2430,000 units. Hybrid vehicles were popular, with 110,000 hybrid vehicles sold in November, up 93% year-on-year. From January to October 2023, hybrid vehicle sales were 1.05 million units.
In the European market, due to the decline of subsidies, European new energy sales in November were 270,000 units, a year-on-year decrease of 3%. The decline in electric vehicles in the two major markets of the United States and Europe has also affected the strategic layout of car companies. Among them, automakers such as General Motors and Ford have slowed down the pace of transformation, decided to extend the production and sales time of gasoline vehicles, and postponed related investments in the field of electrification.
General Motors, for example, has confirmed that it has abandoned plans to produce a total of 400,000 electric vehicles in North America from 2022 to mid-2024. Ford announced the postponement of a $12 billion investment plan for electric vehicles, including the suspension of plans to build a second battery plant in Kentucky with South Korea's SK On, and the production of the Ford Mustang Mach-E at its Mexican plant was also partially cut. According to Ford, many consumers in North America are interested in buying electric vehicles, but they are unwilling to pay more than gasoline or hybrids, which affects the pricing and profitability of electric vehicles.
However, Ford stressed that the company will not cut back on future spending on electric vehicles, but will do so at a slower pace than the original plan. In Europe, the UK is considering postponing a ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars from 2030 to 2035, and in Germany, the country has removed subsidies for electric vehicles ahead of schedule. All of this has changed the consumption of electric vehicles in the European market. For Audi, it is not surprising that such a choice is made under the influence of internal and external factors
Since it is unlikely that EV sales will increase significantly in the short term, Audi will use gasoline vehicles and plug-in hybrids to ensure that its system works and achieves its profit target.
Audi aims to increase its long-term operating return from around 9 percent to 13 percent, while the Audi Group (with Ducati, Lamborghini, Bentley) will achieve an operating return of 14 percent. The Mercedes-Benz Group and BMW are poised to launch the next generation of electric vehicles starting in 2025, while Audi's product portfolio is becoming increasingly old. Continuing to delay the launch of electric vehicles will cause Audi to fall into a period of market contraction in the market on the new track.
However, Audi will continue to adopt a different strategy in China and North America.
In the Chinese market, Audi continues to strengthen its electrification product offensive in China, and this year it launched the Audi e-tron GT model, forming a new energy product matrix composed of Q2L e-tron, A6L e-tron, Q4 e-tron, e-tron, Q5L e-tron and other products. It is understood that the Q6 e-tron model will achieve localized mass production at the Audi FAW New Energy Vehicle in Changchun by the end of 2024. The arrival of the product, which is based on the high-end electrification platform shared by Audi and Porsche, will further increase Audi's competitiveness in the Chinese market.
In order to achieve better development in the Chinese market, Audi has been strengthening local research and development. In July this year, Audi and SAIC Motor reached a consensus in July this year that the two parties will quickly and efficiently expand their portfolio of intelligent connected electric vehicles in the high-end market through joint development. It is reported that Audi will transform the platform in cooperation with SAIC to ensure that the quality and tonality of the product can be integrated into Audi, and launch three new products, which are scheduled to be released in 2025After 2025, Audi and SAIC will jointly develop a new platform, with new products planned to be launched in 2027.
In addition, it is also reported that Huawei and Changan have established a new company in the smart car business, which has thrown an "olive branch" to Audi. If so, the software capabilities that have been a headache for Audi may be solved. Interestingly, Audi also seems to have adjusted its thinking about the development of future electric vehicles. According to Gernot Dllner, Audi will reduce the use of materials in electric vehicles and achieve lightweight development. In the future, Audi's electric cars will be powered by a smaller, more efficient battery that will perform better in terms of range.