Specialist
Former VP at Audi AG
Agenda
- Audi’s (ETR: VOW) volume growth outlook by region and powertrain amid supply challenges and EV growth
- Input cost inflation and implications for ASPs and operating margins
- EV strategy analysis, including model line-up and PPE (Premium Platform Electric) platform competitiveness vs Mercedes (ETR: MBG), BMW (ETR: BMW) and Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA)
- Operating margin outlook, focusing on EV transition and margins amid supply challenges
Questions
1.
Audi recently reported an overall volume decline of about 10% year-to-date. What would be your outlook for full-year volumes? What’s driving this outlook?
2.
What would be your expectation for 2023 volumes for Audi?
3.
You mentioned the supply constraints. How do you think Audi’s chip access, as well as access to different raw materials, compares to other premium German OEMs such as BMW and Mercedes, given their position in the VW group?
4.
You touched on a new portfolio strategy for the Audi brand. We’ve heard a lot about premiumisation and pushing towards luxury from Mercedes. Is it similar here? Is its discontinuation of the A1 and some of the other brands, such as the entry models, pushing towards premiumising the Audi brand as well?
5.
What’s your volume growth outlook for Audi if we’re looking towards 2025?
6.
How competitive is Audi in China vs BMW and Mercedes? You mentioned the company has hit highs of 750,000-760,000 cars per year there, it would be lucky to get 700,000 in 2022.
7.
What would be your outlook for Audi’s ASPs over the next 2-3 years? How much headroom is there for the company to increase ASPs?
8.
What’s your outlook for the likely share of battery and hybrid EVs to develop as part of the total volume by 2025 for Audi?
9.
Do you expect the Russia-Ukraine conflict to accelerate EV adoption, given the rising awareness of the reliance on fossil fuels and what that has meant for Europe in this period?
10.
There have been rumours that Audi is considering a new assembly plant in the US, driven by the subsidies provided by the Biden administration. What do you think of this move? Does it make sense given you said even if the market in North America is resilient, it’s about getting product there?
11.
How competitive are the Audi-VW platforms, the PPE [Premium Platform Electric] and MEB [Modular Electric Toolkit] platforms, vs Mercedes and BMW’s platforms when it comes to specifically EV platforms?
12.
How do you place Audi when it comes to range and charge time? You mentioned some of the models adopted the EV strategy early, some of its models are a bit older. How does the company stand now, and how do you expect that to evolve over the next 2-3 years?
13.
We’ve seen input cost inflation in 2022. What’s your outlook for it, and how is it impacting Audi?
14.
Based on what you mentioned around cost, what would be your outlook for margins per model for Audi?
15.
How do operating margins compare between EVs and ICEs [internal combustion engines]? Should we expect to reach margin parity? If yes, then when?
16.
You spoke about the development of solid-state batteries. Could that help in reducing costs and prices of EVs in the future, such that you could have a lower cost or a higher degree of discounting, but still be able to maintain margin parity with previous models?
17.
Could you give an overview of the software roll-out and monetisation opportunities and where Audi stands on this, since it seems to be the key differentiating factor from which the company can extract value from the customer?
