Audi deliveries plunge nearly 20% in third quarter

German carmaker Audi delivered nearly 20% fewer vehicles to customers in the third quarter, accelerating a downward trend as the company struggles with fierce competition in China and US tariffs.

The Volkswagen subsidiary delivered 314,905 vehicles of its core Audi brand between July and September, a decline of 19.7% compared with the same period last year, the company said on Monday.

The drop was significantly steeper than the roughly 8% decline recorded in the second quarter.

In the first nine months of the year, Audi delivered 1.04 million vehicles, down 11.4% year-on-year. Deliveries in Germany and Europe, however, were slightly higher over the period.

China and the United States are proving particularly challenging for Audi, with sales hit by sluggish demand and intense price pressure in China, and import tariffs in the US.

Unlike rival BMW, Audi has no production facilities of its own in the US, leaving it especially exposed to tariffs.

In the first nine months of the year, Audi's sales fell by nearly a quarter in China and around one-sixth in the US.

The company said model changes involving its popular A1 and Q2 vehicles were also contributing to the decline.

The scale of Audi's prolonged downturn is evident when compared with earlier figures. In the third quarter of 2023, the company delivered nearly 480,000 vehicles of its core brand, roughly 50% more than in the latest quarter.