Lucrezia Ciotti 2026 is shaping up to be a challenging year for Audi , struggling with a crisis affecting profits, revenue, and sales. The German carmaker reported a sharp decline in the third quarter, nearly posting a loss. Of particular concern are the collapse of the Chinese market and growing competition from local manufacturers, which have prompted the group to lower its forecasts for the end of the year.
Audi's profits plunged sharply: net income in the third quarter fell to €95 million.
The German carmaker , part of the Volkswagen Group, closed the period with a net profit of just 95 million euros after taxes. As reported by Ansa , this represents an 87% drop compared to the 718 million recorded in the same quarter of 2025.
The situation appears even more significant when considering the overall performance of the first nine months: between January and September, revenue fell to €42,063 billion, a 13% decrease, while operating profit stood at €1,150 billion (-26%). Operating margin also declined , from 3,2% to 2,7%, while net income fell by 41% to €1,218 billion.
Net cash flow bucked the trend, rising from €2,107 billion to €2,439 billion. The group, which also includes Lamborghini, Bentley, and Ducati, is therefore facing severe economic difficulties.
Chinese market in crisis and competition: forecasts for 2026 revised downwards
Among the factors most impacting Audi's performance is its loss of ground in China , where deliveries fell by 24,5% to 328.042 vehicles. As reported by Quattro Ruote , in the first nine months of the year, the brand's registrations totaled 1.042.150, a decline of 11,4% . The main factors impacting the decline are the decline in sales of internal combustion engine models, increasingly aggressive competition from local manufacturers, and the pressure exerted by Chinese manufacturers on the European market as well.
Negative signals also came from North America , where deliveries decreased by 17,3% , partly due to US tariffs. In Germany and other European countries , however, increases of 1,8% and 1,3% were recorded , respectively. Despite the growth of electric cars in some markets, with increases of 39,1% in Germany and 84,7% in China, global sales of these models fell by 12%, mainly due to the sharp decline in North America (-87,8%) and in Europe, excluding Germany (-12,5%). In light of this scenario, Audi has revised downwards its financial forecasts for 2026 : the expected operating margin is now between 3% and 5%, compared to the previous range of 5-7%, while revenue is expected to be between 55 and 59 billion, instead of 58 and 63 billion.