How Audi is financing the future

After eleven challenging months, Audi has managed to cancel out the pandemic-related losses of the first half thanks to a strong performance and cumulatively achieved break-even in the third quarter. For the fourth quarter, the company anticipates a business performance approaching the prior-year level, depending on the course of the pandemic in the remaining weeks of the year. Its result for 2020 should therefore be clearly positive, but well below the figure for the previous year. As matters stand, net cash flow is on track to finish the fiscal year up on the previous year. This will pave the way for continued investment in future technologies.

At Audi, electrification is a major component of its strategy. It is therefore channeling some 15 billion of the total amount into implementing Roadmap E, with a broad-based product initiative revolving around fully and part-electric models. In specific, it will spend around ten billion on electric mobility and about five billion on hybridization.

A vital factor in leveraging long-term success: a competitive portfolio. The first fully electric models were the Audi e-tron, e-tron Sportback and Q2 L e-tron. Audi’s first series-production model, the Audi e-tron, has already emerged as the world market leader in its segment. With the e-tron GT, the Q4 e-tron and the Q4 Sportback e-tron, Audi is looking toward another electrifying year in 2021 in both senses of the word. The consistent expansion of the electric fleet features large in the long-term product timetable up until 2025. Each one of these vehicles must contribute to profit. That is the only way Audi will succeed in scaling up electric mobility profitably.

Thanks to an optimization of the product portfolio that will create a leaner and more efficient setup, the reduced complexity of internal processes and improvements to fixed costs, the Audi brand is financially robust. Substantial efficiencies are being realized through the Audi Transformation Plan (ATP) and the Audi.Zukunft fundamental agreement. The ATP alone has unlocked over 6.5 billion euros since the program’s launch three years ago. Despite the challenging environment created by the coronavirus pandemic this year, AUDI AG still has its sights firmly set on achieving a cumulative effect of some 15 billion euros with the program by 2022. The Audi.Zukunft agreement in addition provides the basis for a strong brand position for AUDI AG, secure jobs and profitable sites. The upfront spending plans will ensure that the German sites, too, remain thoroughly competitive and sustainable.