Audi loses market share in Europe

Audi lost significant market share in Europe in the first half of the year. While all car brands combined sold 4.5 per cent more cars than in the same period last year, the German luxury brand suffered a 9 per cent decline.

Across the European Union, nearly 5.7 million new cars were registered between January and June, according to figures from the European carmakers' association ACEA. The most popular brand remained Volkswagen, with 611,238 cars registered, an increase of 2.2 per cent.

However, sister brand Audi sold just 268,598 cars, down from 295,207 in the first half of 2023. As a result, its market share in the European Union fell from 5.4 per cent to 4.7 per cent.

Among the largest brands, France's Peugeot also lost 4.3 per cent and South Korea's Kia 9.3 per cent. In the luxury segment, BMW sold 8.9 per cent more cars, while Mercedes saw a 2 per cent drop.

Audi last week announced a restructuring of its plant in the Brussels municipality of Forest, with the possibility of closing it altogether. The model produced there, the electric Audi Q8 e-tron, is struggling with a sharp drop in sales.

^{© BELGA PHOTO VIRGINIE LEFOUR}