Audi confirmed its full-year guidance with a warning that any impact from U.S. tariffs was excluded, after its first-quarter revenue rose 12 percent, helped by higher sales of electric models.
Quarterly revenue rose to €15.43 billion ($17.49 billion) in the January-March period, compared with €13.73 billion a year ago.
Audi confirmed its full-year outlook of 2025 revenue between €67.5 and €72.5 billion and an operating margin range of 7 percent to 9 percent.
“Financial implications of import tariffs, particularly in the United States, cannot be conclusively assessed,” Audi said on May 5.
The outlook doesn’t include the impact from tariffs or the cost cuts Audi is making in Germany, where the brand is cutting 7,500 positions to save €1 billion ($1.1 billion) a year.
Margin remains low on Europe, China competition
Audi continues to struggle with low returns as the brand contends with tepid demand in Europe and intensifying competition in China.
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Operating margin was 1.5 percent in the first quarter, a slight improvement over the 1.1 percent in the same period last year.
Audi delivered 3.4 percent fewer vehicles globally in the first quarter. Deliveries of full-electric vehicles were a bright spot, rising 30 percent.
In North America, excluding Mexico, Audi’s deliveries fell 2.1 percent to 48,599 vehicles in the quarter, as many models there are due to be upgraded. Deliveries in China fell 7 percent to 144,471 vehicles, dragged down by intense competition in the local market.
Audi is under pressure as Chinese consumers turn to homegrown brands, while demand in Europe remains muted and President Donald Trump’s trade tactics threaten to weigh on sales in the lucrative U.S. market.
U.S. production could include EVs
Like its Volkswagen Group sibling Porsche, Audi has no factory in the U.S., and the Q5, its top-selling model there, is imported from Mexico.
By the end of next year, Audi plans to introduce ten new models in the U.S. It’s also considering setting up local production, with a decision on an exact location to be made this year, Chief Financial Officer Jürgen Rittersberger said.
This could include the production of EVs, Rittersberger said on a call with reporters.
“We will also have a very close look at electric cars because that’s still an area of focus, also in the U.S.,” Rittersberger said.
Bloomberg contributed to this report
