Overview
- Volkswagen posted a €1.3 billion operating loss for the third quarter, compared with a €2.83 billion profit a year earlier, on revenue up 2.3% to €80.3 billion.
- U.S. import tariffs cost about €0.8 billion in Q3 and €2.1 billion year-to-date, with the full-year burden from tariffs and related volume effects estimated at up to €5 billion, of which at least €4 billion is direct.
- The company said it is in talks with the U.S. government on expanding local production, and a decision on whether to build an Audi plant in the United States is expected by year-end.
- Volkswagen’s total deliveries rose 1% in the first nine months, but U.S. deliveries fell 8% as it still imports large volumes subject to tariffs, producing about 200,000 vehicles in the U.S. while importing roughly 240,000 from Germany and 287,000 from Mexico; EU-made imports face 15% tariffs and Mexico-made vehicles face 27.5%.
- A €4.7 billion charge tied to Porsche’s EV strategy reversal weighed on results, as Oliver Blume prepares to hand over the Porsche CEO role to Michael Leiters early next year, while Volkswagen reaffirmed guidance for a 2%–3% operating margin and warned chip supply strains involving Nexperia could threaten production.