The Audi Group closed the fiscal year 2022 with a record result: sales revenue increased by 16.4 percent to a record value of 61.8 billion euros. The operating profit climbed by almost 40 percent to a historic high of 7.6 billion euros. The operating profit margin rose from 10.4 percent in the previous year to 12.2 percent, and the net cash flow reached the second-highest value in the company’s history at 4.8 billion euros.
Among the significant drivers of the strong financial performance were consistent crisis management in a year marked by many global challenges, a good pricing position, and strong results from Audi’s subsidiary brands Bentley, Lamborghini, and Ducati. The number of deliveries of fully electric models also increased sharply in 2022. Starting with the future Q6 e-tron model range, Audi will launch the largest product offensive in its history in 2023. It is the first E-model based on the Premium Platform Electric (PPE), which was developed in collaboration with Porsche.
“With our ‘Vorsprung 2030’ strategy, we are providing the right answers even in times of multiple crises,” says Markus Duesmann, CEO of Audi AG. “We are focusing Audi on sustainability and consistently driving the digitization and electrification of our products.”
The brand group with Audi, Bentley, Lamborghini, and Ducati delivered a total of 1,638,638 (2021: 1,688,978) automobiles and 61,562 (2021: 59,447) motorcycles in fiscal year 2022. Despite significant challenges in logistics and the supply chain, especially in the first half of the year, delivery numbers remained nearly at the previous year’s level due to a strong performance in the second half of the year. In 2022, the Audi brand delivered 1,614,231 (2021: 1,680,512) vehicles to customers.
The strong growth trend in electric vehicles continues.
In contrast, the Audi Group was able to make significant gains in deliveries of fully electric models in 2022. With an increase of around 44 percent in deliveries of fully electric vehicles (118,196 vehicles), the brand group is consistently pursuing its electrification strategy. The continuing strong demand for electric vehicles increased the share of fully electric vehicles in deliveries from 4.8 percent in the previous year to 7.2 percent.
With the launch of the Premium Platform Electric (PPE), Audi aims to underline its claim as a leading provider of connected and fully electric premium mobility. The platform, developed in collaboration with Porsche, is a crucial building block for expanding the global offering of electrically powered Audi models. With the future Q6 e-tron model range, the first production vehicle based on the PPE will be presented in the second half of 2023, making it the first electric vehicle to come out of Ingolstadt.
“With the Audi Q6 e-tron, electric mobility is coming out of Ingolstadt for the first time,” says Audi CEO Duesmann. “That’s why we’re building a separate battery assembly facility at the site. This way, we can maintain important expertise in Germany and continue to train our employees in future-relevant fields.”
In fiscal year 2022, the Audi Group’s sales revenue reached 61.7 billion euros (2021: 53 billion euros). The increase of 16.4 percent is primarily due to a strong pricing position and the first-time consolidation of the Bentley brand as of January 1, 2022. The fully electric Audi Q4 e-tron, Audi e-tron GT quattro, and Audi e-tron models were particularly instrumental in this increase. The revenues of the Audi A3 and Audi Q5 model ranges also contributed significantly to the revenue growth, according to the Ingolstadt-based company.
Sustainability in all corporate decisions
Since fiscal year 2021, the brand group has voluntarily reported its key figures in accordance with EU Taxonomy. Measured as a proportion of the Audi Group’s total revenue, the share of EU Taxonomy-compliant sales revenue increased to 8.3 billion euros in 2022 (2021: 6.8 billion euros), which represents 13.5 percent (2021: 12.8 percent) of the total revenues. This includes the sales revenue from the sale of fully electric vehicles, which increased by 49 percent. In order to make the high importance of sustainable development according to ESG criteria transparent and visible, Audi AG is currently undergoing an extensive ESG rating by an independent rating agency. The result of this rating is expected to be published in the spring.
To establish itself sustainably and future-proof, Audi AG also relies on the circular economy model as the basis of its automotive value chain. Audi aims to steadily increase the proportion of recycled materials used in the Audi fleet in the coming years. This is intended to reduce the ecological footprint of its models. At the same time, direct access to secondary materials can contribute to improved supply security in the long term.
In October 2022, Audi launched a pilot project called MaterialLoop with 15 partners from research, recycling, and supplier industries, for which the company dismantled around 100 end-of-life vehicles. Together with its partners, the company is examining the reuse of materials from vehicles at the end of their lifecycle for the production of new vehicles. This is just one of many circular economy projects at Audi. The Neckarsulm, Ingolstadt, and Győr plants in Hungary, as well as the Volkswagen plant in Bratislava, already implement the Aluminum Closed Loop.
The Audi Group is continuing to drive the transformation towards a provider of sustainable and connected premium mobility: With around 28 billion euros, the company plans to invest two-thirds of its advance expenditures into the future topics of electrification and digitalization for the period from 2023 to 2027. Audi CEO Duesmann says: “Our focus on sustainable goals will shape our actions in the short, medium, and long term. The future investments based on the current planning round confirm this clear direction.”
In the interest of socially sustainable corporate orientation, the participation of employees in the company’s success is also being revised. Therefore, the company and the works council have developed the Audi results-based bonus further. The starting point for the revision was the joint agreement Audi.Zukunft from 2019. The focus is on strengthening company pension schemes and involving all employees in the company’s profit from the first euro. In addition, a collective element for employee-related matters will be established, dependent on results, to sustainably strengthen the attractiveness of the employer. Based on this development, Audi is rewarding employees for their contribution to a challenging year 2022: for example, a skilled worker in the German plants will receive an Audi results-based bonus of 8510 euros this year (2021: 5670 euros).
Bentley, Lamborghini, and Ducati achieved record-breaking numbers
Last but not least, the convincing result of the Audi Group is also attributable to the performance of Bentley, Lamborghini, and Ducati, all of which achieved new record highs in fiscal year 2022. Bentley, for example, celebrated another delivery record: with 15,174 (2021: 14,659) vehicles delivered, the British brand exceeded the previous year’s result by 3.5 percent and was also able to significantly increase its sales revenue to over 3.4 billion euros (2021: 2.8 billion euros). The operating margin rose to a record high of 20.9 (2021: 13.7) percent, and the operating profit of 708 million euros (2021: 389 million euros) was also significantly higher than the previous year’s figure.
The Lamborghini brand delivered 9,233 (2021: 8,405) vehicles to customers in the past fiscal year, and sales revenue increased by 21.9 percent to reach 2.4 billion euros (2021: 1.9 billion euros). Lamborghini achieved an operating profit of 614 million euros (2021: 393 million euros) with an operating margin of 25.9 (2021: 20.2) percent.
Despite a very challenging supply situation, Ducati delivered 61,562 (2021: 59,447) motorcycles to customers, the highest number ever delivered in a single year. Sales revenue increased by 24.0 percent to 1.1 billion euros (2021: 878 million euros), not least due to the improved pricing position. The operating profit improved to 109 million euros (2021: 61 million euros), and the operating margin reached 10.0 (2021: 7.0) percent in the reporting year.
The financial results slightly exceeded the previous year’s figures
The Audi Group ended the fiscal year 2022 with record results: Revenue increased by 16.4 percent to a record of 61.8 billion euros. The operating profit rose by almost 40 percent to a historic high of 7.6 billion euros, and the operating return on sales increased from 10.4 percent in the previous year to 12.2 percent. The net cash flow reached the second-highest value in the company’s history at 4.8 billion euros.
One of the significant drivers of the strong financial performance was a consistent crisis management approach during a year marked by many global challenges, a strong price position, and strong results from Audi’s subsidiary brands Bentley, Lamborghini, and Ducati. The number of deliveries of fully electric models also increased significantly in 2022. Starting with the future Q6 e-tron series, Audi will launch the largest product offensive in its history in 2023. It is the first E-model based on the Premium Platform Electric (PPE), which was developed jointly with Porsche.
“Even in times of multiple crises, our ‘Vorsprung 2030’ strategy provides the right answers,” says Markus Duesmann, CEO of Audi AG. “We are focusing Audi on sustainability and driving the digitization and electrification of our products forward.”
In the fiscal year 2022, the Audi Group delivered a total of 1,638,638 (2021: 1,688,978) automobiles and 61,562 (2021: 59,447) motorcycles with the brands Audi, Bentley, Lamborghini, and Ducati. Despite significant challenges in logistics and the supply chain, especially in the first half of the year, delivery figures remained almost at the previous year’s level thanks to a strong performance in the second half of the year. In 2022, the Audi brand delivered 1,614,231 (2021: 1,680,512) vehicles to customers.
The Audi Group also significantly increased its deliveries of fully electric models in 2022, with a plus of around 44 percent (118,196 vehicles) compared to the previous year, continuing its electrification strategy consistently. The still-strong demand for electric vehicles increased the share of fully electric vehicles in deliveries from 4.8 percent in the previous year to 7.2 percent.
Audi plans to underline its claim as a leading provider of connected and fully electric premium mobility with the launch of the Premium Platform Electric (PPE). The platform, jointly developed with Porsche, is a crucial component of Audi’s expansion of its global offering of electrically powered models. The Q6 e-tron series, which will be based on the PPE, will be presented as the Group’s first serial production vehicle in the second half of 2023.
“Together with Porsche, we are putting Ingolstadt on the map for electric mobility with the Audi Q6 e-tron,” says Audi CEO Duesmann. “That’s why we’re building our own battery assembly facility at the site, keeping important expertise in Germany and continuing to train our employees in future-relevant fields.”
The Audi Group has voluntarily reported its key figures according to EU Taxonomy since the 2021 fiscal year. In 2022, the share of EU Taxonomy-compliant revenue amounted to 8.3 billion euros (2021: 6.8 billion euros), which is 13.5 (2021: 12.8) percent of total revenue. This includes the revenue from sales of fully electric vehicles, which increased by 49 percent. To make its commitment to sustainable development based on ESG criteria transparent and visible, Audi is currently undergoing a comprehensive ESG rating by an independent rating agency.
Preview for the fiscal year 2023
“Audi has demonstrated great financial strength in 2022 despite challenging global conditions, achieving new record highs in revenue and operating profit,” says Audi CFO Jürgen Rittersberger. “With this result, we can be confident in achieving our ambitious strategic goals in the future.”
Assuming stable supply conditions and global economic performance, the brand group expects to continue its positive development in the fiscal year 2023. The company anticipates delivering between 1.8 and 1.9 million vehicles to customers, achieving a new record high revenue range between €69 and €72 billion. The operating profit margin is expected to range between 9 and 11 percent, assuming a continuing high price level for the vehicles. The Audi Group aims to maintain a high level of net cash flow within a range of €4.5 and €5.5 billion.