At the VolkswagenGroup, the new car business continues to lose momentum. With 740,000 vehicles from all group brands, 5.7 percent more cars were delivered in August than in the weak month of the previous year, as the group announced on Friday. In July the increase was 6.6 percent, and in the first half of the year it was even 12.8 percent.
This is mainly due to the weak China-Business. Sales continued to decline in the important market. At 278,000 vehicles, 6.5 percent fewer cars were sold there than in August 2022. VW justifies this, among other things, with an unusually strong month of the previous year, when China boosted sales with tax advantages. Volkswagen is becoming weaker in China from year to year, and now CEO Ralf Brandstätter (54) is supposed to run the world’s second largest car manufacturer from Beijing return to old strength
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Most other regions, however, were in the black. The group was able to make significant gains in Western Europe, where 232,000 vehicles were delivered, 21.1 percent more than a year ago.
Core brand VW is losing significantly, Audi is gaining
Of the individual brands laid above all Audi (plus 14 percent), Skoda (plus 19 percent) and Seat/Cupra (plus 54 percent). The core brand Volkswagen, which accounts for more than half of group sales, posted a decline of 1.7 percent. Also Porsche was in the red at 1.5 percent.
VW is currently dealing with the declining demand for electric cars and missing engine parts for combustion engines after the August floods in Slovenia. Production has already had to be reduced in several plants, and 269 temporary positions are to be eliminated in Zwickau. Brand boss Thomas Schäfer (53) described the current purchasing reluctance at the beginning of the month as only an “intermediate low”.
CEO Oliver Blume (55) already had that at the end of July Sales target for the full year capped. Instead of the previously targeted 9.5 million vehicles, he is now only expecting 9.0 million to 9.5 million deliveries across the group by the end of the year.