Audi BEV sales up 47% in the US in 2022 while ICE sales flounder
Audi of America released its fourth quarter business update today that reveals delivery numbers of all its models for the last year. And, like much of the auto industry, the company’s BEV sales are growing while ICE car sales floundered in 2022.
Audi’s BEV 2022 sales
Audi announced total sales of 186,875 cars in 2022, which is down 5% from 196,038 in 2021. But the company’s electric car sales continue to grow at double-digit rates, rising by 47% to 16,177 in 2022, up from 10,985 in 2021.
In 2022, Audi released two new electric SUVs, the Q4 e-tron and Q4 e-tron Sportback. The company booked a few deliveries of these cars in 2021, but those vehicles were “launch preparation vehicles.” Actual customer deliveries began in earnest in 2022.
That situation is reflected in Q4 e-tron deliveries that jumped from 45 in 2021 to 1,872 in 2022, a 4,060% year-over-year increase.
Q4 e-tron Sportback went from 19 deliveries in 2021 to 541 in 2022. That’s a 2,747% year-over-year increase.
Audi’s original e-tron SUV declined in sales near the end of the year, with 1,145 deliveries compared to 1,981 the previous year, as some customers shifted to purchasing the smaller and more affordable Q4 e-tron instead as the model became more available.
But overall, over the course of the year, sales of all of Audi’s electric offerings went up, and sales of most of the company’s gas offerings went down, with the exception of the A3, A5, and Q5.
Audi’s fourth quarter 2021 results were greatly impacted by supply chain challenges. It saw 33,184 sales, which was 46.9% down year-over-year. But the e-tron saw an 86.2% increase, going from 1,064 deliveries in 2020 to 1,981.
Electrek’s Take
Are these numbers still small? Sure. But the trajectories are telling the story of where we’re going. It’s inevitable. Electric car sales are being boosted by rapid deployment of electric vehicle chargers, federal Inflation Reduction Act tax credits, and rebates at the state and local level.
But we can do better. In 2021, 5.6% of the cars Audi sold in the United States were e-tron. This year, that percentage is 8.7%. That’s still in the single digit range, and we should do better than that.
The vast majority of Audi cars sold in 2022 were gas cars, and those cars will continue to pollute for a good number of years.
Some utilities are even giving rebates: I got a $1,500 check from Green Mountain Power in Vermont as a thank you for buying a VW ID.4. The company also sent me a free ChargePoint EV wall charger, and I get special reduced rates when I use it.
Next year those EV delivery numbers will be significantly larger. Audi considers itself a leader in electrification – it’s had double-digit percent increases for the last few years – so we’re intrigued to see what it achieves over the next year.
Read more: Audi is converting all factories to produce EVs as it phases out gas cars
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Environment
U.S. crude oil falls below $60 a barrel to lowest since 2021 on tariff-fueled recession fears
A view shows disused oil pump jacks at the Airankol oil field operated by Caspiy Neft in the Atyrau Region, Kazakhstan April 2, 2025.
Pavel Mikheyev | Reuters
U.S. oil prices dropped below $60 a barrel on Sunday on fears President Donald Trump’s global tariffs would push the U.S., and maybe the world, into a recession.
Futures tied to U.S. West Texas intermediate crude fell more than 3% to $59.74 on Sunday night. The move comes after back-to-back 6% declines last week. WTI is now at the lowest since April 2021.
Worries are mounting that tariffs could lead to higher prices for businesses, which could lead to a slowdown in economic activity that would ultimately hurt demand for oil.
Oil futures, 5 years
The tariffs, which are set to take effect this week, “would likely push the U.S. and possibly global economy into recession this year,” according to JPMorgan. The firm on Thursday raised its odds of a recession this year to 60% following the tariff rollout, up from 40%.
Fueled by incentives from the Illinois EPA and the state’s largest utility company, new EV registrations nearly quadrupled the 12% first-quarter increase in EV registrations nationally – and there are no signs the state is slowing down.
Despite the dramatic slowdown of Tesla’s US deliveries, sales of electric vehicles overall have perked up in recent months, with Illinois’ EV adoption rate well above the Q1 uptick nationally. Crain’s Chicago Business reports that the number of new EVs registered across the state totaled 9,821 January through March, compared with “just” 6,535 EVs registered in the state during the same period in 2024.
Those numbers represent more than 50% growth in EV registrations – far beyond the expected 12% first-quarter increase nationally being projected by Cox Automotive. (!)
What’s going on in Illinois?
While President Trump and Elmo were running for re-election, they campaigned on the threat promise of canceling the $7,500 federal tax credit for EVs. Along with California Governor Gavin Newsom, Illinois’ Governor JB Pritzker made countermoves – launching a $4,000 rebate for new electric cars and up to $1,500 for the purchase of a new electric motorcycle.
At the same time, the state’s largest utility, ComEd, launched a $90 million EV incentive program featuring a new Point of Purchase initiative to deliver instant discounts to qualifying business and public sector customers who make the switch to electric vehicles. That program has driven a surge in Class 3-6 medium duty commercial EVs, which are eligible fro $20-30,000 in utility rebates on top of federal tax credits and other incentives (Class 1-2 EVs are eligible for up to $7,500).
We covered the launch of those incentives when the program was announced at Chicago Drives Electric last year, but the message here is simple: incentives work.
SOURCES: Chicago Business, Ray Cunningham; featured image by the author.
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The electric construction equipment experts at XCMG just released a new, 25 ton electric crawler excavator ahead of bauma 2025 – and they have their eye on the global urban construction, mine operations, and logistical material handling markets.
Powered by a high-capacity 400 kWh lithium iron phosphate battery capable of delivering up to 8 hours of continuous operation, the XE215EV electric excavator promises uninterrupted operation at a lower cost of ownership and with even less downtime than its diesel counterparts.
XCMG is delivering on part of that reduced downtime promise with the lower maintenance and easier repair needs of electric equipment, and delivering on the rest of it with lickety-quick DC fast charging that can recharge the machine’s massive battery in 1.5-2 hours … but that’s not the slick bit. The XCMG XE125EV can be powered up without leaving the job site thanks to its BYD battery swap technology.
We first covered XCMG and its battery swap technology back in January, and covered similar battery-swap tech being developed by MOOG Construction offshoot ZQUIP, as well – but while XCMG’s battery tech has been in production for several years, it’s still not widely known about in the West (even within the industry).
XCMG showed off its latest electric equipment at the December 2024 bauma China, including an updated version of its of its 85-ton autonomous electric mining truck that features a fully cab-less design – meaning there isn’t even a place for an operator to sit, let alone operate. And that’s too bad, because what operator wouldn’t want to experience an electric truck putting down 1070 hp more than 16,000 lb-ft of torque!?
Easy in, easy out
The best part? All of the company’s heavy equipment assets – from excavators to terminal tractors to dump trucks and wheel loaders – all use the same 400 kWh BYD battery packs, Milwaukee tool style. That means an equipment fleet can utilize x number of vehicles with a fraction of the total battery capacity and material needs of other asset brands. That’s not just a smart use of limited materials, it’s a smarter use of energy.
You can check out all the XE215EV’s specs at this tear sheet, and get an in-person look at the Chinese company’s latest electric excavator this week in Munich, Germany.
SOURCE | IMAGES: XCMG.
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