INGOLSTADT, Germany, (Reuters) – Audi Chief Executive Gernot Doellner said on Tuesday that the Volkswagen subsidiary was sticking to its electric vehicle strategy despite facing challenges this year.
Audi remains committed to bringing the last vehicle with a combustion engine onto the market in 2026, Doellner told journalists at an event in the German city of Ingolstadt, with the dates set even if the details of how it’s done are flexible.
The premium German carmaker wants to earn as much money from electric cars as from combustion engines by the end of the decade.
In 2024, however, it is likely to see lower sales, partly due to the introduction of new models as that usually means a drop in delivery figures ahead of the new launches.
The all-electric Q6 etron, developed jointly with Porsche will arrive at dealerships in the second half after a delay of over two years, while the A6, which is also electric, and the A5 and Q5 combustion models are also due to be launched.
Chief Financial Officer Juergen Rittersberger spoke of a “transitional year”: 2024 will be even more demanding than 2023.
Cash inflow will fall to between 2.5 billion euros and 3.5 billion euros ($2.71 billion and $3.79 billion), partly because investments in the new vehicles are imminent. In addition, there will be bottlenecks, said Rittersberger.
The CFO said Audi had launched an austerity programme to achieve its goal of a 14% return on sales, including improved sales and lower product costs, but did not give details.
Audi forecasts revenue this year at between 63 billion and 68 billion euros, lower than last year, while the return on sales is set to come in at 8-10% after hitting 9% in 2023.
($1 = 0.9229 euros)
Reporting by Christina Amann Writing by Miranda Murray Editing by Rachel More and Susan Fenton
