AutoBeta(AutoBeta.net)05/08 Report--

Recently, Audi Group released first-quarter results showing that during the reporting period, Audi achieved revenue of 14.282 billion euros, an increase of 1.52 percent over the same period last year, and net profit of 3.468 billion euros, a year-on-year increase of 147.00 percent, a record high. During the period, Audi sold 385084 vehicles, compared with 462828 in the same period in 2021, down 16.8 per cent from a year earlier.

Audi said that although it was affected by persistent semiconductor supply shortages, the conflict between Russia and Ukraine and the epidemic in China in the first quarter, it generated its highest operating profit ever on the back of a strong pricing strategy and hedging valuations of raw materials. In addition, the consolidation of Bentley was a major factor in Audi's first-quarter profit growth. According to the financial report, Bentley was incorporated into Audi Group Finance for the first time, with revenue of 813 million euros and operating profit of 170 million euros in the first quarter.

The situation of BMW Group is similar to that of Audi, as the BMW Group has an absolute controlling stake in BMW brilliance, resulting in a substantial increase in book data. According to BMW Group, brilliance contributed 3.287 billion euros in revenue to the group. According to the financial report, BMW Group achieved revenue of 31.142 billion euros in the first quarter, an increase of 14.3% over the same period last year. Net profit was 10.185 billion euros, an increase of 259.5% over the same period last year. However, BMW's global sales during the reporting period were 519796, down 7.3 per cent from a year earlier.

In February, BMW Group's stake in brilliance, a Chinese joint venture, was changed to 75%. This means that from 2022, brilliance BMW financial statements will be fully integrated into the BMW Group. "brilliance BMW will bring an one-off positive impact of 7 billion-8 billion euros to the group, directly boosting the revenue of the automotive division," Nicolas Peter, BMW's financial director, said at BMW's annual earnings meeting on March 16.

Mercedes-Benz's performance in the first quarter was also between BMW and Audi. According to the financial report, Mercedes-Benz achieved operating income of 34.858 billion euros during the reporting period, an increase of 6.0% over the same period last year. Net profit was 3.59 billion euros, up 3.0% from a year earlier. Like BMW and Audi, Mercedes-Benz sales also fell in the first quarter, with cumulative global sales falling 10 per cent year-on-year to 487008 vehicles.

From the performance of the domestic market, BBA sales are showing a decline, which is affected by semiconductor supply shortages and epidemic restrictions. In terms of specific brands, BMW's performance is still the most eye-catching, followed by Mercedes-Benz, and Audi is again at the bottom. In the short term, the pattern of BBA will not be broken for the time being.

In terms of first-quarter sales, the gap between BMW and Mercedes-Benz was further widened by the lack of core and the epidemic, compared with 7200 in the same period in 2021. It is understood that BMW has won the domestic luxury brand crown for three years in a row, and it is full of expectations to win the "four consecutive championships of the year".

"2022 is still a very challenging year, but it is also a milestone year for BMW Group," said Chipze, chairman of BMW Group. We will continue to move towards higher goals in China. " After entering 2022, BMW began to speed up the product process. Prior to this, brilliance BMW X5 and brilliance BMW i3 went on the market at the same time on March 31, in which the domestic BMW X5 launched a total of four models, with 2.0T and 3.0T engines available. The price range of 2.0T version is 60.5-635000 yuan, and that of 3.0T version is 70.5-775000 yuan. As for the brilliance BMW i3, as a Chinese special model, as a pure electric version of the BMW 3-Series, only one model is launched and the price is 349900 yuan.

Under the electric waves, Mercedes-Benz is also not willing to lag behind. According to the plan, Mercedes-Benz will launch eight new energy products to the Chinese market in 2022, including pure electric products such as the new EQS SUV, which will soon be the first in the world, as well as plug-in products of C-class, S-class and other models. By the end of the year, Mercedes-Benz will have the richest lineup of electric products in China's luxury car market.

Compared with BMW and Mercedes-Benz, Audi's sales fell 22.1% year-on-year to 161621 vehicles in the first quarter. On the one hand, SAIC Audi A7L is in a climbing period, and its monthly sales are only three digits. Coupled with its high price, it has limited support for Audi's overall sales. On the other hand, FAW-Volkswagen Changchun plant stopped production due to the epidemic, Audi's main models such as A6L, Q5L, and A4L were affected.

In the new energy vehicle market, Audi will also increase model investment. In 2022, new SAIC Audi models, such as SAIC Audi Q6, will be launched one after another. In addition, with the launch of Audi Q4 e-tron, Audi Q5 e-tron and Audi e-tron GT models, the lineage of the brand's pure electric models in Huazhong will continue to be strengthened.

However, whether it is BMW, Mercedes-Benz or Audi, their development in new energy is still too slow, most of their products are realized through oil to electricity, and in the context of the crazy layout of the new energy market by independent brands and new car-building forces, in fact, we do not see the determination of overseas car companies to develop new energy. In other words, although overseas car companies have strong advantages in the fuel vehicle market, from the current pattern, overseas car companies have gradually lagged behind the market.

Welcome to subscribe to the WeChat public account "Automotive Industry Focus" to get the first-hand insider information on the automotive industry and talk about things in the automotive circle. Welcome to break the news! WeChat ID autoWechat