Audi Group is bracing for declines across the board this year, including a 21.1pc drop in auto deliveries in Q1.
The Group anticipates new passenger car registrations will decrease by 20pc in Western Europe this year compared to 2019, led by a steep decline this quarter. However, it expects recovery by Q3 2020, with Q4 2020 almost mirroring prior-year levels. The decline in Eastern Europe, by contrast, will not be as marked this year.
The carmaker anticipates its North American sales to fall by 25-30pc this year, mostly of which will occur this quarter, with a slow recovery through H2 2020.
Noting that global demand for cars decreased by 23.3pc through Q1 2020, Audi began scaling back production at facilities around the world, because of which, the company’s Q1 earnings report revealed declines across the board.
Audi produced 369,975 cars in Q1 2020, down from 442,831 cars in the same quarter last year. The Group produced 13,395 motorcycles last quarter, down from 16,183 in Q1 2019.
However, the company’s plants in China were stifled by the COVID-19 outbreak in February, rebounding a month later, by which time production from Audi’s plants outside China was stymied by work stoppages.
Audi’s revenue in Q1 2020 declined to €12.5bn from €13.8bn in Q1 2019. Sales from cars fell to €8.8bn in Q1 2020 from €9.9bn during the same quarter last year, while sales from engines, powertrains and parts deliveries rose to €2.1bn in the first quarter from €1.9bn during Q1 2019.
However, the Group’s operating profit fell to €15mn last quarter from €1.1bn in Q1 2019, meaning that it had an operating return on sales of 0.1pc, which is also down from 8pc during the first quarter a year ago.