Audi delivered 118,196 fully electric cars worldwide in 2022, 44.3 per cent more than in 2021. Electric cars thus accounted for around 7.3 per cent of the brand’s total sales last year (1.61 million cars).
The first six-figure total result for deliveries of electric models was made possible primarily by a strong final quarter: after three quarters, the Ingolstadt-based company had 77,000 electric cars. In the fourth quarter, almost 42,000 electric Audis were delivered, which is also a new record for the brand.
In Europe, deliveries of the Q4 e-tron were up 99.4 per cent, the e-tron GT 29.2 per cent and the e-tron 8.5 per cent. In their native market of Germany, sales of all-electric models rose by 87.8 per cent, according to Audi. Audi also surpassed the 2021 result across all drive types in Europe with 624,498 units, up 1.2 per cent. However, no absolute figures are given for the electric model series in Europe, only the growth compared to the previous year.
In the USA, demand for all-electric Audi models was higher than ever in 2022: 16,177 e-cars sold in the USA are a new record and represent an increase of 47.3 per cent compared to 2021. The bestseller there with 10,397 sales is still the e-tron quattro. In China, the number of Audi electric vehicle models delivered rose by 9.8 per cent, and in the other global markets by 90.2 per cent.
“The strong numbers for the all-electric models show us that our clear focus on electric mobility is the right path,” says Hildegard Wortmann, Member of the Board of Management for Sales and Marketing at Audi AG. “Thanks to extraordinary team spirit, operational excellence and effective sales control, we were able to close out the business year successfully.”
The figures for the VW Group are not yet known. On Tuesday, the core VW passenger car brand had already presented its electric sales figures: In 2022, the Wolfsburg-based company could deliver 330,000 electric cars, an increase of 23.6 per cent.
The Ingolstadt-based company does not mention plug-in hybrids in the press release. A comparison with the German premium competitors Mercedes-Benz and BMW is therefore only possible for BEVs: here, the Munich-based company is clearly ahead with 172,001 electric cars delivered.
Depending on how you look at it, it can be relatively close or even clear between Audi and Mercedes. It is clear that Audi is in second place behind BMW with 118,196 electric cars. With the 117,800 EV deliveries mentioned by Mercedes in its own announcement, it would be conceivably close to Audi. However, this figure includes 14,700 electric vans and transporters from Mercedes-Benz Vans. If these are excluded, the Stuttgart company’s passenger car business would still have 103,100 electric deliveries.
With reporting by Sebastian Schaal, Germany.
