Audi Reports Sharp 16% Sales Drop in 2025, Worst in Years

URGENT UPDATE: Audi has recorded its worst U.S. sales performance in years, selling just 164,942 cars in 2025, a staggering 16% drop from 196,576 units in 2024. This marks a significant decline, even worse than during the peak pandemic years of 2020 and 2021, when Audi sold 186,620 and 196,038 vehicles, respectively.

With these shocking figures just released in its year-end sales report, the automaker faces an uphill battle as it struggles to compete with rivals like Mercedes-Benz and BMW, who continue to outperform Audi in the luxury market. The urgency of these numbers cannot be overstated; Audi’s sales trajectory raises serious concerns about its future in the highly competitive U.S. automotive market.

The decline in sales is particularly evident in Audi’s electric vehicle lineup. The Q4 e-tron and Q4 Sportback e-tron saw drops of 38% and 48%, with sales plummeting from 8,546 and 2,810 units sold in 2024 to just 5,264 and 1,474 units in 2025. The Q8 e-tron, which has been officially discontinued, sold only 642 units, reflecting an alarming 89% decline from the previous year.

Notably, the e-tron GT also suffered a 59% drop in sales, selling just 1,195 units in 2025 compared to 2,894 in 2024. Traditional internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles were not spared either; the Audi Q3 fell by 27%, from 32,090 to 23,581 units, while the Q5 saw a 19% decline with 46,215 units sold.

The most dramatic drop came from the Audi A4, which plummeted by 93% to just 507 units, largely due to its discontinuation. Despite these disheartening numbers, there are glimmers of hope for Audi. The Q8 and A7 both saw slight increases in sales, rising 5%, though with totals of only 10,881 and 1,654 units, they were not enough to significantly impact the overall figures.

The newly introduced Q6 e-tron had a remarkable debut, achieving a staggering 1,681% increase in sales due to it being its first full year on the market, totaling 17,207 units sold. This positive development indicates potential growth areas for Audi, particularly in the electric vehicle segment.

However, as Audi struggles, competitors Mercedes-Benz and BMW continue to thrive. While the final Q4 2025 sales figures for Mercedes-Benz are still pending, its Q3 report indicated sales of 223,800 vehicles, nearly 60,000 more than Audi, with another quarter left to report. BMW is poised to end 2025 on a high note, boasting a record-setting 388,897 cars sold, a 4.7% increase from 2024.

As Audi faces these urgent challenges, the question remains: how will the company adapt to reclaim its position in a fiercely competitive market? Stakeholders are advised to keep a close watch on Audi’s next moves, as the automaker must innovate to restore its reputation and boost sales amidst declining numbers.