Bartek Sikorski

Record Results for Vehicle Sales, Revenue and Profit

- Successful start to 2007 – first quarter results:
- Deliveries to customers: up 9.4 percent
- Revenue: up 13.4 percent
- Operating profit: up 14.6 percent
- 1 million vehicles to be sold by the end of 2008
- EUR 3,700 profit sharing bonus per employee

AUDI AG has made a successful start to 2007, continuing the successful course set in its record year of 2006. "We want to break the one million barrier by the end of 2008," Rupert Stadler, Chairman of the AUDI AG Board of Management, said today at the 118th Annual General Meeting in Neckarsulm, Germany. "With the outstanding results of 2006 and in the first quarter of this year we have demonstrated once again how Audi is growing profitably. We will continue our product drive systematically and will achieve even greater successes in future – both in established markets as well as in new ones. By 2015, Audi will be number one," Stadler told shareholders.

Successful start to 2007
In 2006, Audi achieved record figures for production, vehicle sales, revenue, and profit before tax. This trend has been continued in the first quarter of 2007. Vehicle sales rose by 9.4 percent to 248,164 (226,802)* units worldwide. In March alone, Audi handed over more than 100,000 vehicles to customers worldwide – an all-time high. A few days ago, Audi published the quarterly report on its revenue and profit for the first time. Compared to the same quarter of last year, the sales revenue of the Audi Group increased by 13.4 percent to EUR 8,679 (7,654) million. Besides the encouraging development in the core model lineup, the Audi Q7 and the TT models also played a key role. With EUR 401 (350) million, the company increased its operating profit by 14.6 percent year on year.

In April, the brand with the four rings boosted its worldwide sales by 9.2 percent to 84,736 (77,624) units. The company thus sold 332,900 (304,426) vehicles worldwide in the first four months of the year, up 9.4 percent compared to one year ago.

Audi enjoyed strong growth on European export markets, with an increase of 11.9 percent to 39,457 units in April and 13.5 percent to 165,221 vehicles in the first four months. Increasing sales in growth markets like Russia and India confirm Audi's strategy of realising potential in these new markets. In Russia, sales grew by 76.6 percent (4,409 units) in the first four months of the year. During the same time, India posted growth of 75.6 percent (145 units). In order to realise the growth potential in India, Audi will open seven new dealerships in the course of this year and will begin local assembly in the autumn. In its second home market, China (including Hong Kong), Audi achieved growth of 23.7 percent in the first four months equaling 32,961 vehicles. Looking at the US market, unit sales during the same period went up by 15.2 percent (29,134 vehicles).

Ralph Weyler, Member of the AUDI AG Board of Management for Marketing and Sales, put it this way at the Annual General Meeting: "The 2006 financial year and the first quarter of 2007 show that we are on the right track. We will continue to expand into new markets and realise existing potential, in order to deliver 1.5 million vehicles to customers worldwide by the year 2015."

In order to attain these ambitious goals, Audi will continue its product drive in 2007 systematically. The all new TT Roadster has been in showrooms since March. The hand-crafted Audi R8 sports car was launched in April. "Demand has already exceeded our expectations," Stadler said. At the Geneva Motor Show, Audi celebrated the world premiere of the new A5 and S5 models. These cars will be launched at the end of June.

The brand with the four rings recently enlarged the range of its best-selling A3 and A4 models with particularly efficient versions. The Audi A3 1.9 TDI e has fuel consumption of just 4.5 litres per 100 km and emits a mere 119 g/km CO2. Audi also offers this engine in the Audi A4, with fuel consumption of 5.2 litres per 100 km.

Sustainable mobility is the goal of AUDI AG. Under the motto 'Progressive Performance', which was also used in this year's Annual Report, we are going to implement various measures to achieve further significant reductions in fuel consumption. In addition we will continue to push the development of alternative fuels and drive systems," Stadler said. In order to meet the increased need for engineers in development teams for clean diesel engines and hybrid drive systems, Audi will hire 450 graduates this year. That is 100 more than originally planned for 2007. 70 percent of the new recruits will work in Technical Development.

In Germany alone, Audi provides 45,000 secure jobs. "Due to the excellent performance of our motivated employees, AUDI AG enjoy tremendous success today," Stadler stated at today's Annual General Meeting. For the second time, Audi is sharing the company's success with employees through a pay element directly related to the company's operating profit of the previous year. This month, the company will pay EUR 81.5 (21.7) million in bonuses to employees. That is almost four times as much as last year. Together with the profit-sharing bonus paid annually in July for many years, employees will each receive an average performance-related bonus of EUR 3,700 this year. Audi will maintain a high level of employment. The agreement "Audi’s Future – Performance, Success, Participation" signed by the General Works Council and the company management explicitly rules out layoffs until 2011.

With its recent decisions regarding production of the R8, A5 and Q5 models, AUDI AG has shown once more how it beliefs in Germany as an important production location. "At heart, we are a German company, although we think and act on a global stage," Stadler announced.

Of course whenever a new model is launched, all factories being considered have to demonstrate that they can provide the production facilities necessary, particularly with regard to competitiveness." By taking over full management responsibility for the factory in Brussels, Audi has made sure that the additional production capacity it needs to continue its growth has been secured with competitive conditions. The plant will be formally admitted to the Audi family at a ceremony in Brussels on May 30th. "Brussels will then be part of our success story," Stadler mentioned. The company will produce a new model there – a compact, small, and sporty Audi.

2006: record year for sales, revenue and profit
Audi recorded excellent figures in the 2006 financial year. For the eleventh year in a row, the Audi brand surpassed its record sales of the year before. In 2006, 905,188 vehicles (up 9.2 percent) were delivered to customers worldwide. The sales revenue of the Audi Group increased by 17.1 percent to a new record of EUR 31.1 billion. This growth rate is significantly higher than that for deliveries to customers. Profit before tax rose by 48.5 percent to the best mark ever in the company's history: EUR 1,946 million. With an operating profit of EUR 2,015 million, AUDI AG recorded even greater growth of 43.2 percent. The strength of the 2006 financial year is also reflected in the improved rate of return before tax, which increased from 4.9 to 6.2 percent compared to last year. "The rate of return envisaged for 2008 has thus been achieved significantly earlier than planned before. And with a return on investment of 14.2 percent in 2006, we have already surpassed our envisaged ROI of 10 percent," Stadler commented.
* prior-year figures in brackets
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Mirage77

Love all the fanciful boardrooms.

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