Audi doubles profit, Volkswagen sees profit jump in 2021

Volkswagen subsidiary Audi doubled its profit in 2021 after a slow 2020, according to the premium carmaker's annual report on Tuesday, reported dpa.

Last year, the Bavaria-based manufacturer posted an operating profit of €5.55 billion, more than twice as much as a year earlier.

Turnover at Audi climbed by around 6% to €53.1 billion, making the operating return around 10.5%.

Carmakers are currently benefiting from an upsurge in prices for new and used cars amid a period of high demand and limited supply. Production has been repeatedly interrupted by a lack of electronic chips.

Audi delivered 1.68 million cars worldwide last year, 0.7% fewer than in 2020.

Meanwhile, German car giant Volkswagen's core brand posted vastly improved figures for 2021 despite ongoing problems due to the shortage of semiconducter chips.

Although car sales slipped, the Wolfsburg-based company was able to more than quintuple its annual profit to about €2.5 billion.

Total turnover at the main VW passenger car division increased from about €71.1 billion to €76.1 billion, according to the group's annual report, published on Tuesday.

Sales, on the other hand, fell from 2,835,000 cars to 2,719,000.

VW's light commercial vehicles rebounded from a loss of €454 million in 2020 to an operating profit of €73 million the next year.

The impact of the coronavirus pandemic has not gone away yet, Europe's largest car group says.

However, limited vehicle availability as a result of the semiconductor shortage has affected VW as it has other carmakers. Shifts in plants were cancelled, and some employees in Germany were put on short-time work, a government-backed furlough scheme.

VW expects the electronics shortage to last at least until the second half of the year. Many customers are having to wait a long time for their cars; for several models there is a temporary block on orders.