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Slump in the auto industry

Mercedes, Volkswagen, Audi, and now BMW, too: Things Aren't Going so Well

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A Sluggish Chinese Market Is Causing Audi Major Problems

Audi, the Ingolstadt-based (Germany) Volkswagen subsidiary, was hit particularly hard in the third quarter. Its vehicle deliveries plummeted by nearly one-fifth. Audi is struggling not only in China but also in the U.S., where the brand does not have its own plant that could help reduce the tariff burden. On top of all this, there are changes underway for the two volume models, the A1 and Q2. From July through September, Audi delivered a total of 314,905 vehicles, which was 19.7 percent fewer than a year earlier. Just how pronounced Audi’s downward trend—which has been ongoing for several years—is becomes clear when comparing it to older figures: In the third quarter of 2023, Audi had delivered just under 480,000 cars under its core brand—half as many again as it does now.

Porsche, too, Is Showing No Signs of Recovery

Porsche hasn’t been spared by this trend either! In the third quarter, the Swabian automaker delivered just over 56,000 sports cars and SUVs, which is 15 percent less than a year earlier. Porsche sales fell by a similar margin in the first nine months. In addition to the phase-out of production for the Cayman and Boxster internal combustion engine models and the elimination of tax incentives for electric vehicles in the U.S., the situation in China is naturally also weighing on the company. There, sales figures fell by 33 percent in the first nine months (to around 21,500 vehicles). Experts believe this is unlikely to change anytime soon, as Porsche’s management team, led by CEO Michael Leiters, is preparing to sell no more than one-tenth of its vehicles in this once-lucrative market going forward. In its peak year of 2020, China still accounted for nearly 35 percent of the VW subsidiary’s sales. By 2025, that figure had dropped to just under 15 percent—and the trend is downward.

Mercedes Posts a Gain Despite the Slowdown in China

The Stuttgart-based (Germany) company also sold fewer vehicles in the third quarter. The group sold just over 407,000 passenger cars—and thus

Eight percent less than a year earlier. However, sales figures had already declined in the first half of the year. In China, sales recently fell by 31 percent. Mercedes cited a persistently challenging passenger car market environment and intense competition. With nearly one-third of all passenger car sales, China remains the automaker’s most important market. Naturally, the decline there has a correspondingly significant impact. Even gains in the U.S. and Germany were not enough to offset the loss. Outside of China, however, sales rose by one percent. Mercedes-Benz also saw growth in electric vehicles: In the third quarter, the company sold 68,400 fully electric vehicles worldwide, representing a 61 percent increase compared to the previous year and setting a new record in this category.

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