Audi’s Quiet Flex: EVs Deliver Growth, Tariffs Lurk in the Blind Spot

By Team Dailyrevs  

Audi’s Quiet Flex: EVs Deliver Growth, Tariffs Lurk in the Blind Spot

  • Audi’s revenue rose 12.4% in Q1 2025, despite a drop in overall vehicle deliveries.

  • EV sales jumped more than 30%, helping offset regional slowdowns.

  • Full-year forecast remains unchanged—but excludes any U.S. tariff impact.

Audi’s Start to 2025: Gains Up Front, Risks in the Rearview

Audi started the year with numbers that read well on paper: 12.4% first-quarter revenue growth, robust electric vehicle demand, and an outlook that remains steadfastly intact. But behind the topline numbers, there's a more complicated tale—one involving regional slowdowns, tariff risks, and the subtle pressure to sustain the EV momentum.

Electric Growth Keeps the Numbers in the Black

Audi’s Q1 2025 revenue hit €15.43 billion, up from €13.73 billion a year ago. The driving force? A 30%+ rise in electric vehicle sales, led by models like the Q4 e-tron and Q8 e-tron.

EVs are now doing more than filling a niche—they’re increasingly propping up the brand’s global performance. While total vehicle deliveries fell 3.4%, Audi’s electric push gave the company just enough leverage to post a strong quarter on paper.

Cracks Beneath the Surface of a Strong Quarter

Despite the high top-line growth, Audi is not sitting pretty. In China, deliveries went down by 7%, owing to ruthless competition from agile locals and a consumer mindset that is becoming increasingly harder to penetrate. In North America, meanwhile, deliveries went down by 2.1%, as customers became wary on price point and being long-term-minded about EV ownership.

These regional dips didn’t derail the quarter, but they do signal that Audi’s success is becoming increasingly dependent on the strength of its electric offering—and on how well it can hold ground in markets where sentiment is changing.

Audi management has decided to restate its full-year projection, sticking with a revenue band of €67.5 billion to €72.5 billion on operating margins of 7% to 9%. However, that guidance specifically doesn't include the potential effect of U.S. tariffs on imports, a risk which would change profit margins significantly should policy turn later in the year.

The Tariff Wildcard

For now, Audi is holding back. The United States has proposed a 25% tariff on imported EVs and components, which would hurt badly German manufacturers that rely on foreign production. In contrast to companies that have American plants, Audi ships most of its models straight into North America—a strategy that could be costly if trade walls rise.

Executives have seen the risk and avoided specifics. There's strategy in the silence: report knowing without seeming soft. Any rigid policy change from Washington, however, would require an instant readjustment on pricing or sourcing.

What's the Game Plan?

Audi’s approach, at least for now, is one of calculated optimism. EV momentum is strong. The lineup is expanding. Margins are solid. But behind the scenes, the pressure is building—to convert EV curiosity into volume, to find equilibrium in underperforming markets, and to prepare for trade dynamics it can’t control.

There is no panic in Ingolstadt—but there is certainly a realization that the next several quarters will mean more than they ever would under ordinary circumstances. The landscape is shifting, and Audi is trying to maintain its ground while continuing to gain momentum.

Final Thought

Audi’s first quarter of 2025 is a lesson in contrast: headline growth driven by EV success, with subtle warning signs tucked beneath the surface. If trade tensions stay in check and EV demand holds, the brand will remain on track. But if either variable turns—Audi may need to pivot fast.