The VW Group is feeling the effects of the reluctance to buy. Fewer cars have been sold in the last three months. Audi and China are particularly affected.
The Volkswagen Group delivered fewer cars in the last quarter than a year ago. In the months April to June, the Group delivered 2,243,700 vehicles of all Group brands worldwide, 3.8 percent less than in the same month last year, the Wolfsburg-based company announced. Audi and China were particularly affected.
Audi’s sales fell by 11.3 percent. The core brand Volkswagen lost 5.2 percent. Skoda and Seat/Cupra, on the other hand, increased. Business is particularly weak in China, where 19.3 percent fewer vehicles were delivered in the past three months.
“As announced, in the very intense competitive environment in China, we have deliberately given priority to sustainable value creation over higher volumes in order to achieve our long-term strategic goals,” said Audi Sales Chief Hildegard Wortmann, who is also responsible for the department in the entire group.
In Western Europe, however, sales rose by 5.1 percent and in North America by 10.8 percent. However, this could not compensate for the slump in China. Wortmann was nevertheless optimistic about the rest of the year. “For the full year 2024, we continue to expect a slight increase in global deliveries compared to the previous year due to the launch and ramp-up of numerous important models in the second half of the year.”
E-car sales are weakening
There was a setback in the sales of electric cars. In the first half of the year, the group delivered 317,200 electric models worldwide, 4,400 fewer than in the same period in 2023. The main reason for this was weak demand in Europe and the USA, where 15 percent fewer electric cars were delivered in each case. The order backlog for electric cars in Western Europe rose slightly to around 170,000.
The group had revised its forecast for the year as a whole downwards just the evening before. Audi was particularly affected. Due to weak demand for the Q8 e-tron electric model, the VW subsidiary is now considering prematurely ending production of the model in Brussels. The site is to be restructured. This could also result in the plant being closed if no alternatives are found. In the first half of the year, 17,900 Q8 e-trons were delivered.
Source: Stern
