NEWS

Beijing, July 16th, 2021. Volkswagen Group China together with its Chinese joint ventures delivered around 1.85 million vehicles (+16.2%) in the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong in the first half of 2021. In the premium segment, Audi, Porsche, Bentley and Lamborghini had a particularly strong performance. Both Audi and Porsche set new sales records, achieving their highest ever H1 sales total and growing market share that reached 4.1% and 0.5%, respectively.

Volkswagen Group China CEO Stephan Wöllenstein said: “Due to our strong performance in the first quarter and our premium brands, we have kept our leading market position for both Volkswagen Group China and Volkswagen brand in the first half of the year. This is despite the challenges posed by the industry-wide semiconductor chip shortage in Q2, which meant we were unable to match production and high customer demand. Although the shortage has had a temporary impact on our performance, we do not expect it to have a long-term effect on our sales or market position. We expect to see improvements in the supply situation in the second half of the year. Our top priority is to do our utmost to work off the order backlog.” 

Wöllenstein added: “These challenges have also not prevented us from accelerating our e-mobility offensive in China – five new BEVs launched in the first half of 2021 and the ID.6 CROZZ is about to hit the market.”

Volkswagen brand, and its JETTA sub-brand, delivered over 1,331,900 vehicles (+14.0%) during the first half of 2021, remaining the number one choice for Chinese car buyers, despite sales in Q2 being impacted by the global chip supply shortage. The brand continued its SUV offensive by launching six new SUV models and maintaining its steady growth in this segment – handing over keys to almost 365,000 SUV customers (+7.8%). With Volkswagen’s transformation towards electrification, NEV sales grew 89.6% year-on-year to over 36,600 deliveries. The brand was ranked among China’s Top 10 NEV brands in H1 2021. Since launch at the end of March, the ID.4 has seen stable month-on-month growth in sales, with over 2,900 deliveries in June. Order in-takes in June exceeded this figure pointing to a growth trend for our ID.4 sales. Deliveries of the ID.6 X exceeded 500 units in its first two weeks of sale in June. By year end, Volkswagen will offer five ID. models in the market, including the soon-to-launch ID.6 CROZZ. 

Audi in China continued its record-setting sales momentum in H1 2021, posting the best H1 sales in its history, with 418,700 units delivered, an impressive 38.4% year-on-year increase. Among the locally produced models, around 96,800 Audi A6L, 83,000 Audi Q5L, and 49,800 Audi Q3 models were delivered. The Four Rings saw especially strong demand for its imported models with a total of 44,800 imported Audis delivered to Chinese customers, a surge of 148.9%. Apart from the high market demand for flagship models, including the Audi A8L, Audi Q8 and Audi Q7, sales of Audi RS and S models were particularly strong, heralding the largest ever Audi Sport product offensive in China. The record-setting results continue the success of these leading premium models in the Chinese market.

ŠKODA delivered 44,000 vehicles to customers during the first half of 2021. This May, the OCTAVIA PRO hit the China market. The model, specifically tailored to the Chinese market and its customers, is setting a new benchmark for mainstream A+ class sedans. In addition, ŠKODA's upgraded SUV models will be also unveiled over the following months, including annual models KAMIQ and KAROQ, as well as the upgraded KODIAQ family.

Porsche delivered 48,700 vehicles (+22.9%) to customers during the first half of the year. China continues to be the sports car manufacturer’s largest single market. With the demand for two-door sports cars in particular having grown significantly in China recently, a total of over 2,300 units of the 911 were delivered, a year-on-year growth of 83%. Also noteworthy is the all-electric Taycan, which proved remarkably successful with over 3,300 deliveries from January to June, covering 69% of the total sales volume since its official launch in April 2020.