Volkswagen Group suffered a loss in the third quarter this year

Volkswagen announced on Thursday that the total loss for July to September this year exceeded 1 billion euros. The loss was mainly caused by the sports car subsidiary Porsche.

Volkswagen is the largest automobile manufacturer in Europe, with brands such as Skoda and Audi under its umbrella. Volkswagen announced on Thursday, October 30, that the quarterly loss was approximately 1.07 billion euros, the first since the early summer of 2020. At that time, the COVID-19 pandemic had severely impacted the economy.

Volkswagen's Chief Financial Officer Arno Antlitz explained that the current difficulties faced by Volkswagen are "mainly due to increased tariffs, Porsche's product strategy adjustments, and the impairment of Porsche's assets."

In September this year, Porsche announced the postponement of several electric vehicle models, while focusing on gasoline and hybrid vehicles. Last month, Volkswagen significantly reduced its performance expectations for this year. According to Volkswagen's quarterly report, the Porsche subsidiary will cause Volkswagen to lose about 4.7 billion euros.

Currently, European market demand is weak, competition in the Chinese market is intensifying, and the impact of tariffs imposed by the United States has also brought significant negative effects. Volkswagen only has one factory in Tennessee, USA, and other brands under the group are basically produced outside the United States. Antlitz stated, "Increased tariffs and declining sales will cost the group up to 5 billion euros annually."

Additionally, the profit margin for electric vehicles is low. Although electric vehicle sales have increased by about a third, battery costs remain high, which has an adverse impact on overall profitability.

However, Volkswagen Group's revenue in the third quarter increased by 2.3% to approximately 80.31 billion euros, mainly due to a slight increase of 1% in global car sales. In Europe, one out of every four electric vehicles is from the Volkswagen Group.

Sources: DW

Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1847431192412172/

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