2021 (Full Year) Global: Audi Worldwide Sales by Country

In 2021, Audi worldwide sales were flat with China, the USA, and Germany the largest global markets, and electric deliveries sharply up.

In 2021, Audi worldwide sales were flat with China, the USA, and Germany the largest global markets, and electric deliveries sharply up.
© Audi AG

In full calendar year 2021, Audi delivered 1,608,512 cars worldwide — a relatively small decrease of only 0.7% largely blamed on the global semiconductor shortage. Fully electric car deliveries increased by 57.5 percent to almost 82,000 battery-electric cars. Audi more than doubled its product portfolio of fully electric models in the past year. Although sales were sharply down in Germany, Audi increased sales in 31 European countries in 2021. China remained the most important market for Audi followed by the USA and Germany.

Audi Worldwide Car Sales in 2021

In 2021, despite the difficult supply situation, Audi-brand deliveries approached the previous year’s volume: Audi delivered 1,680,512 models to customers, 0.7 percent fewer than in 2020. In the US, the previous year’s performance was exceeded by 5 percent. Audi sales also increased in several European countries but were down strongly in Germany as well as the vital Chinese market.

After the first half of 2021, Audi was on track to break records: the 981,681 delivered vehicles were a new best in company history. Then the persistent semiconductor shortage took effect in the second half of the year. As a result, deliveries dropped In the fourth quarter by 34.2 percent over the same period in the previous year.

However, the curve for deliveries of fully electric models continues to go up. In 2021, Audi sold 81,894 fully electric models – an increase of 57.5 percent. By 2025, Audi plans to have more than 20 fully electric models in its portfolio. Starting in 2026, the brand will exclusively bring new fully electric models to the market.

Alongside the fully electric models within the overall range of models, the Audi Q3 (+19.2 percent), Audi A5 (+8.3 percent), and Audi A7 (+9.2 percent) in particular saw large increases. The SUV segment was highly sought after: the Audi Q5 (+5.3 percent) and the Audi Q7 (+5.3 percent) also gained. The high performance models from Audi Sport once again exceeded the previous year and set a new record with 39,356 vehicles sold (+34.2 percent)

Audi Sales by Major Global Country Markets in 2021

Audi sales in the largest global country markets in 2021 were as follows:

Audi-brand deliveries20212020Change
World1,680,5121,692,773-0.7 %
Europe617,048619,723-0.4 %
– Germany180,883214,427-15.6 %
– United Kingdom117,993107,892+9.4 %
– France50,38345,728+10.2 %
– Italy55,00550,060+9.9 %
– Spain34,76737,284-6.8 %
USA196,038186,620+5.0 %
Mexico9,4659,834-3.8 %
Brazil6,2446,680-6.5 %
Mainland China + Hong Kong701,289727,358-3.6 %

In China, Audi ended 2021 with 701,289 vehicles delivered and a decline of 3.6 percent. After a record-breaking 2020, the fourth quarter was particularly marked by the semiconductor shortage for locally produced vehicles. Imported Audi models (+53 percent) recorded a significant increase in demand. The Audi A5 (+96.7 percent), Audi Q7 (+74.4 percent), and the fully electric Audi e-tron (+68.7 percent) showed particularly positive development. Additionally, sales of Audi Sport models more than doubled (+113.4 percent) over 2020, the previous year.

In the US, Audi actually increased sales by 5% to 196,038 vehicles. Audi recorded a record year for fully electric cars here: with an increase of 52.5 percent over the previous year, Audi sold more fully electric models in the US than ever before, including the Audi e-tron GT, which has been on the market since July 2021. The Audi e-tron also increased significantly with +34.6 percent. The SUV segment had persistently high demand, with the Audi Q3 (+26.5 percent) and the Audi Q5 (+19.6 percent) at the top. With 7,796 delivered models and growth of 60.5 percent, Audi Sport models also set a new record in the US. In Canada, the number of delivered vehicles increased by 11.2 percent.

In Europe, AUDI AG approximated the previous year’s level with 617,048 delivered vehicles (-0.4 percent). The Audi A3 (+3.6 percent), Audi Q3 (+5.6 percent), Audi Q5 (+18.6 percent), and Audi Q8 (+1.8 percent) recorded growing demand. The company achieved significant growth in France (+10.2 percent), Italy (+9.9 percent), and the United Kingdom (+9.4 percent), among others. It set new records in Denmark and Norway, partly because of the electric models that were particularly popular there. Overall, 31 European markets were higher than the previous year. In Germany, the brand with the four rings shipped 180,883 vehicles to customers (-15.6 percent). Along with the semiconductor shortage, the effects of the reduction in the value-added tax in the second half of 2020 were also noticeable here. The Audi e-tron continued to show particularly positive growth in the company’s domestic market with an increase of 10.3 percent.

In the other markets worldwide, Audi increased deliveries by 3.1 percent over the previous year to 137,347 cars. Electric models showed a very positive trend here as well, with an increase of 89.6 percent.

“Although the semiconductor supply will continue to be strained in the coming months, the strong growth in electric model deliveries gives us a tailwind to stick unflinchingly to our roadmap,” says Hildegard Wortmann. “The high volume of incoming orders as well as the highest order backlog ever show that we have the right portfolio.”

Global Worldwide Car Sales by Brand in 2021 (Full Year)

Global worldwide sales by brand in 2021:

“Sales” as reported by the various brands generally refer to deliveries and not necessarily sales to the customer or final registration. Terms and definitions may vary.

About the author:

Henk Bekker

Henk Bekker is a freelance writer with over 20 years of experience in online writing. His best-selling cars website has been reporting car sales statistics since 2008 with classic car auction prices focusing on the most expensive automobiles sold at public auctions in the past decade. He also owns the travel websites European-Traveler.com and Lake Geneva Switzerland. Henk holds an MBA from Edinburgh Business School and an MSc in Finance from the University of London.