“The year 2019 remains testing for the automotive industry. However, our financial statements for the third quarter show that the Audi Group is resilient even in strong headwinds,” says Alexander Seitz, Member of the Board of Management for Finance, China and Legal Affairs at AUDI AG. “We aim to steer the Audi Group solidly through the current challenges while setting the right course for long-term competitiveness.”
From January through September, the company delivered 1,357,102 automobiles of the Audi brand to customers (2018: 1,407,672). While deliveries were still adversely impacted in the first half of the year by aftereffects of the transition to the WLTP test cycle and by numerous model changes, the Audi brand reduced the accumulated decrease to 3.6 percent in the third quarter. As a result, the brand with the Four Rings was able to strengthen its market share in the year to September in an overall market that contracted by 5.0 percent. In Europe, following the second stage of the WLTP changeover, nearly all model variants have been homologized and are available in the car configurator. Internationally as well, the brand with the Four Rings expects impulses from its model initiative: The new Q3 has already been launched successfully in the United States, for example. In China, the all-electric Audi e-tron* and the Q8 will be launched in the fourth quarter.
In the first nine months of this year, the Audi Group generated revenue of €41,332 million (2018: €44,257 million). The decrease reflects a change in the Audi Group’s consolidated group. Whereas the revenue and earnings of multi-brand importers were booked at the level of the Audi Group until the end of 2018, they are presented in the financial statements of the Volkswagen Group as of 2019. Adjusted for these effects, the Audi Group’s revenue in the first nine months of the year was slightly higher than in the prior-year period. In the automobile business of the Audi brand, the model initiative resulted in an improved product mix: Thanks to the market success of the full-size models such as the Q8, A6 Avant and the all-electric Audi e-tron*, the Audi brand increased its revenue by 5.8 percent. At Lamborghini, business continued to be driven by strong demand for the Urus* super SUV and the revenue of the Lamborghini brand rose to €1,343 million (2018: €813 million).
The Audi Group posted operating profit of €3,239 million for the first three quarters of the year (2018: €2,871 million). Operating profit in the prior-year period had been reduced by special items in connection with the fine of €800 million imposed by the Munich II Public Prosecutor’s Office. In the first nine months of 2019, there were adverse effects on the Audi Group’s operating performance primarily from the lower number of cars delivered and the resulting lower utilization of plant capacity. Higher advance expenditure for future technologies also had an initially negative impact on earnings. Higher personnel costs were partially offset by lower selling expenses. Additional positive impulses for the key financial metrics came from the Audi Transformation Plan (ATP): From January through September alone, the company implemented numerous measures that will boost its operating performance by more than €1.3 billion over the full year. Since the program started in 2018, the ATP has already freed up more than €3.3 billion.
The operating return on sales was 7.8 percent in the first three quarters (2018: 6.5 percent). The revenue-reducing effects of deconsolidating the multi-brand importers had a positive impact on this metric.
The Audi Group’s profit before tax increased to €3,668 million (2018: €3,458 million). This figure includes financial income of €429 million, which is lower than in the first nine months of last year primarily due to measurement effects (2018: €586 million).
With a net cash flow of €3,271 million (2018: €3,116 million), the Audi Group once again confirmed its financial strength. The negative one-time effect from the deconsolidation of the multi-brand importers was more than offset through increased discipline and a strong focus on expenditure and investment.
In the third quarter, the Audi Group further stabilized its performance in a challenging market environment. From July through September, the brand with the Four Rings delivered 450,922 vehicles, almost as many as in the prior-year quarter (2018: 458,439). After adjusting for the effects of deconsolidating the multi-brand importers, third quarter revenue of €12,571 million was higher than last year (2018: €13,074 million). The Audi Group achieved third-quarter operating profit of €938 million and an operating return on sales of 7.5 percent (2018: €110 million and 0.8 percent). The fine of €800 million imposed by the Munich II Public Prosecutor’s Office had substantially impacted the previous year’s figures.
The Audi Group looks with confidence to a challenging fourth quarter. “2019 will not be a record year, but the Audi Group is in a solid position,” says Alexander Seitz. “We have already overcome some critical hurdles such as the changeover to WLTP 2nd Act. In the fourth quarter, we will continue to roll out our model initiative in the markets. The next stage of the Audi transformation plan will provide further impetus for short-, medium- and long-term profitability. For Audi to financially manage the transformation into a provider of sustainable premium mobility, however, we must also push forward consistently with the flexibilization of our plants and the flexibility of our workforce.” The company aims to reach an agreement on the cornerstones of Audi.Zukunft by the end of the year. Taking into account the future product portfolio, long-term volume planning and the resulting allocation of car models to the plants, the focus will be on securing the long-term competitiveness of the Audi Group. This includes adjusting the strategic capacity of the plants and reviewing employment structures in line with demographic trends.
Against the backdrop of weaker volume growth in the first half of the year, the Audi Group anticipates slight growth of deliveries for the year as a whole. In its 2018 Annual Report, the Audi Group still expected a moderate increase in deliveries. The Audi Group affirms its forecasts for the key financial metrics of revenue, operating return on sales and net cash flow. It expects slight revenue growth, an operating return on sales of between 7.0 and 8.5 percent, and a net cash flow of between €2.5 and €3.0 billion.
Selected key figures of the Audi Group
| Q3 | Jan. – Sept. | |||
2019 | 2018 | 2019 | 2018 | |
Car deliveries | 450,922 | 458,439 | 1,357,102 | 1,407,672 |
Revenue | 12,571 | 13,074 | 41,332 | 44,257 |
Operating profit | 938 | 110 | 3,239 | 2,871 |
Operating return on sales | 7,5 | 0.8 | 7,8 | 6.5 |
Download Audi Group Interim Financial Report
*Fuel consumption of the models named
Audi e-tron:
Electricity consumption combined in kWh/100 km: 26.2 – 22.6 (WLTP); 24.6 – 23.7 (NEDC); CO2 emissions combined in g/km: 0
Information on fuel/electricity consumption and CO2emissions in ranges depending on the selected equipment and accessories for the car.
Lamborghini Urus:
Fuel consumption in l/100 km: 12.7; CO2 emissions combined in g/km: 325
Information on fuel/electricity consumption and CO2emissions in ranges depending on the selected equipment, accessories and tires for the car.
Audi RS 3 LMS (TCR)
Trouble-free parking, free charging and off to your plane – precisely that is the concept behind Audi’s new initiative to unleash the beauty of sustainable mobility at Munich Airport. Until December 20, owners of any make of electric car or plug-in hybrid vehicle will have the option of parking their car for free at the airport and recharging it with green power. Users book the required dates at 
On finishing runner-up, Langeveld in his maiden WTCR season celebrated his first podium. For the Audi RS 3 LMS, it marked the seventh podium this season and the 24th since the series’ inaugural season in 2018. Two other Audi drivers shortly behind Langeveld showed strong performances as well. In his first race in an Audi RS 3 LMS, Ritomo Miyata had dropped from fifth to tenth position at the start but subsequently made up three spots. He trailed Frenchman Jean-Karl Vernay, who in the RS 3 LMS of Leopard Racing Team Audi Sport initially stormed forward from eleventh to sixth position. However, a defective shifting actuator put an early end to Miyata’s fast drive on lap 15. In the second race, Jean-Karl Vernay from 13th on the grid managed to fight back to ninth, while Frédéric Vervisch improved from 18th to 13th place. In 17th, Ryuichiro Tomita marked the best result of one of the three wild card drivers for Audi Team Hitotsuyama throughout the weekend. Gordon Shedden from Leopard Racing Team Audi Sport saw the checkered flag three positions behind him. In the final third race, Jean-Karl Vernay from 14th on the grid made up four positions once more while Frédéric Vervisch again advanced from 18th to 13th place and, following penalties for rivals, subsequently moved up to the eleventh spot. In position nine, Vernay is now the best Audi Sport driver in the standings. 
In the premium manufacturer’s production plants, man and machine have been working hand in hand for some years. Now, employees with PC workstations are also receiving help from robots in the form of a digital assistant called “Audi myMate.” After a pilot phase, the first virtual robot started work in asset accounting in August 2019 and has since been entering and booking capital goods in the system. The employees in this area have thus gained time for more demanding tasks such as analyzing the recorded data. At present, several bots are already in use for the Four Rings, and Audi intends to continuously increase the number of digital assistants.