Volkswagen ended the third quarter of the year with black figures. Like industry peers Tesla and Daimler, Volkswagen benefited from the improving market in China. That helped ease the pain of the corona crisis somewhat.
The Volkswagen Group, also owner of brands such as Skoda, Audi and Porsche, closed the measurement period with an operating result of € 2.4 billion, € 12.4 billion less than last year. That followed a loss in the second quarter for the world’s top-selling automaker. The Volkswagen Group sold 6.5 million cars in the first three quarters of this year, 18.7 percent less than in the same period last year. In China, sales in recent months have returned to the level of before the outbreak of the crisis. The persistent malaise in Europe and North America and stricter measures in the home market Germany are hindering a broad recovery of the sector. Several automakers have already said that developments in the coming months will be difficult to predict.
In the second quarter, the closure of showrooms and factories caused billions in losses in the industry. It is also important for Volkswagen that the production network is maintained. The automaker recently began rolling out the new electric ID3 and the latest Golf to customers. The Volkswagen brand was loss-making in the first nine months of this year, not only due to declining sales but also costs due to the diesel scandal: – € 1 billion compared to a plus of € 3.2 billion last year.
Expectation
The Volkswagen Group expects – not surprisingly – that the operational result for the whole of 2020 will be considerably lower than last year. Yet it is expected that it ends in the black. Not only the corona crisis and the associated decreased sales are cited as the reason for a lean year. The competition, stricter emission requirements and exchange rates do not make things any easier, according to the group.