The Volkswagen Group's pre-tax profits were down €3.3 billion (£2.75bn) in the first nine months of 2024 - its lowest since the Covid pandemic – driven by difficulties at its Volkswagen brand, where “painful decisions” need to be made.
The group has blamed a weaker industry environment – especially in China, an important market for the brand, where sales are down 10% – high fixed costs (such as amenities and wages) and costs around "significant" reorganisation (€2.2bn), which relates to the closure and potential sale of Audi’s plant in Brussels, Belgium.
As a result, it is expecting 240,000 fewer sales and and a fall in revenue of €2.3bn (£1.9bn) this year compared with 2023, it said today.
“Our nine-month results reflect a challenging market environment and underline the importance of delivering on the performance programmes we have launched across the group,” said COO Arno Antlitz.
