News
Financial News | Volkswagen Group
Volkswagen shareholders formally approve actions of Board of Management and Supervisory Board and adopt resolution on dividend for 2023
At the Annual General Meeting of Volkswagen AG, the shareholders followed the proposal of the Board of Management and Supervisory Board and resolved by a majority of 99,99 % to pay an increased dividend of EUR 9.00 per ordinary share and EUR 9.06 per preference share for the 2023 financial year. This corresponds to a payout ratio of 28 per cent and an increase of EUR 0.30 per share. Volkswagen AG is distributing a total of EUR 4.5 billion to its shareholders for the 2023 financial year.
From Europe, for Europe: Volkswagen Group launches project for all-electric entry-level mobility
The Board of Management of the Volkswagen Group has decided to make all-electric entry-level mobility more widespread. The Brand Group Core will bring affordable electric vehicles from Europe, for Europe, into the market. The world premiere is scheduled for 2027. Volkswagen has been working for some time to offer compact, particularly inexpensive electric vehicles in the price range of around 20,000 euros. In this way, the Group’s volume brands are fulfilling their promise to create mobility for all and continue to facilitate the entry into e-mobility. With its brand diversity, the Volkswagen Group also assumes a social responsibility for affordable, sustainable mobility.
New models, clear plan: Audi Board of Management optimistic about the future after a challenging first quarter
2024 will be a demanding year for the Audi Group. The challenging market environment and supply bottlenecks, especially for V6 and V8 engines, had a particularly negative impact on operating profit in the first quarter of the year. The company also has to manage numerous product ramp-ups. Revenue reached €13.7 billion in the first quarter of the year, while operating profit amounted to €466 million. The operating margin was 3.4 percent. In the first three months of the year, the Brand Group Progressive delivered 402,048 automobiles to customers – a decline of 4.7 percent. The demand for fully electric models, however, increased by 3 percent. Audi registered a significant increase of 13.7 percent in China, with 156,082 models delivered.
Brand Group Core increases operating profit in Q1 2024 despite challenging market environment
The Brand Group Core delivered robust financial results in the first quarter of 2024. With stable vehicle sales and slightly lower sales revenue, the Brand Group Core reported a significant year-on-year increase in operating profit and operating return. At 6.4%, operating return was well within the target corridor of 6-7% for 2024. All brands contributed to this achievement, reporting higher returns on the basis of focused cost management as well as increased implementation of synergy and efficiency measures within the Brand Group. The financial performance in the first quarter felt the impact of offsetting effects – these included, for example, the abrupt termination of government incentives for electric cars in the German market and the related discount measures at the beginning of the year. Furthermore, there was high depreciation attributable to investments in product campaigns and the related ramp-up of electric products.
Volkswagen Group: Q1 2024 muted as expected – Outlook confirmed
Porsche AG kicks off a year of product launches with determination
Porsche AG has got off to a vigorous and forward-looking start to the challenging 2024 financial year. In this year of product launches, the sports car manufacturer is renewing four out of its six model lines. The first quarter was marked by the ramp-ups of the third model generation of the Panamera and the new Taycan. In addition, large-scale investments have been made in digitalization and research and development. Accordingly, the Porsche Group recorded an expected decline in sales and earnings in the first three months. At the end of the quarter, Group sales revenue amounted to 9.01 billion euros (previous year: 10.10 billion euros). Group operating profit was 1.28 billion euros (previous year: 1.84 billion euros). Group sales revenue came in at 14.2 per cent (previous year: 18.2 per cent).
TRATON GROUP reports successful start to 2024 with higher sales revenue, earnings, and profitability
The TRATON GROUP reported a successful start to 2024 and increased its sales revenue, adjusted operating result, and adjusted operating return on sales in the first quarter despite a slight decrease in unit sales. The TRATON GROUP brands sold a total of 81,100 (3M 2023: 84,600) vehicles between January and March, a slight year-on-year decline of 4%. At the same time, sales revenue grew 5% to €11.8 billion (3M 2023: €11.2 billion) thanks to a favorable product and market mix and improved unit price realization. Accounting for 19% (3M 2023: 20%) of total sales revenue, the vehicle services business made a considerable contribution to business performance. At 66,400 (3M 2023: 68,500) vehicles, the Company’s incoming orders in the first quarter of the year were solid and thus only slightly down by 3% year-on-year. The book-to-bill ratio, or the ratio of incoming orders to unit sales, was 0.8 in the first three months. This meant that unit sales were higher than incoming orders, allowing order backlog to continue to return to normal.
At €1,106 million (3M 2023: €935 million), adjusted operating result was up significantly on the prior-year period. In light of the 5% increase in sales revenue, adjusted operating return on sales rose by 1 percentage point in the first quarter of 2024 to 9.4%.
Volkswagen Group takes the offensive in China by strengthening tech capabilities and reducing costs
Volkswagen launches the next phase of its transformation in China. At its China Capital Markets Day in Beijing, Volkswagen Group presented its strategy update for the Chinese market. The focus is on its target to strengthen tech capabilities and reduce costs in the strongly growing market. The Group plans to achieve cost parity with local competition in the compact car segment by 2026 and gain further momentum through a re-aligned strategy and an efficiency program that was launched already. In addition, the company underlined its commitment to its “in China, for China” strategy: It presented measures to cater even better to the needs of Chinese customers, accelerate model developments and time-to-market as well as significantly reduce costs. In addition, the aim is to better harness the innovative power of the market and increase local value creation through more in-house development capabilities and strong local partnerships. As a result, the Group aims to strengthen its position as the #1 international OEM in the Chinese market and has set ambitious targets until 2030: Approximately 4 million vehicles sold and growth in proportionate operating result to around EUR 3.0 billion, including the fully consolidated Anhui joint venture.
Volkswagen Group delivers 3 percent more vehicles in the first quarter
The Volkswagen Group increased its deliveries in the first quarter of 2024 by 3 percent to 2.10 million vehicles. The main growth drivers were China (+8 percent), South America (+14 percent) and North America (+5 percent). Vehicles with combustion engines increased by 4 percent to 1.97 million units, overcompensating the slight decline of 3 percent to 136,400 all-electric vehicles (BEV). In this segment, strong growth in China (+91 percent) did not fully offset the decline in Europe (-24 percent). However, incoming orders for BEVs in Western Europe developed positively from January to March. More than twice as many all-electric models were ordered as in the same period last year (+154 percent), so that the BEV order bank currently stands at around 160,000 vehicles.
After a solid fiscal year 2023: Audi strengthens and expands its product portfolio
The Audi Group has achieved a solid result in the 2023 fiscal year under challenging economic conditions. Revenue rose by 13.1 percent to €69.9 billion, the operating profit was €6.3 billion, and the operating margin was 9.0 percent. Net cash flow was nearly on par with the previous year at €4.7 billion. With numerous new models, Audi will significantly strengthen and expand its product portfolio in the coming years: The world premiere of the fully electric Audi Q6 e-tron, the first model on the new Premium Platform Electric (PPE), heralds a series of product launches. More than 20 new models are planned for 2024 and 2025.
Brand Group Core improves result and return in 2023 – closer cooperation between the volume brands is gaining traction
The Brand Group Core delivered robust financial results in 2023. Higher volume and price effects, improved availability of parts and lower fixed costs had a positive effect, while higher product costs and the deconsolidation of Volkswagen Group Rus had a negative impact on the result. The global market and competitive environment remains challenging. The Brand Group Core is working on further stabilizing its performance with a view to improving its resilience against external factors, in particular given the slower development of the e-mobility market in Europe.
Volkswagen Group delivers robust 2023 results – Performance programs and record number of new product launches stabilize future development
Volkswagen Group achieved robust financial results in a challenging environment in 2023. Thanks to progress in electrification and a flexible product strategy, the Group successfully is able to meet customers’ needs worldwide. At the same time, 2023 was a year of restructuring for Volkswagen Group. In many areas of the TOP-10 program, the Group has made progress faster than originally planned. With more than 30 new products, 2024 will be the year of world premieres, with highlights including the high-performance all-electric vehicles based on the new PPE premium platform. Volkswagen Group is therefore confident about the current year and an accelerated ramp-up from 2025 onwards. The overarching Group goal remains sustainable, value-creating growth.
Porsche AG enters its biggest year of product launches in a strong position
Volkswagen Group achieves robust annual results for 2023, with a strong fourth quarter
Volkswagen Group achieved robust financial results in 2023. This was driven by a strong fourth quarter, with sales revenue of EUR 87 billion and an increase in operating profit of more then a quarter compared to the previous year. During the year, the Group made further progress with the implementation of its strategy and systematically pushed ahead with its restructuring. The focus was on customer-oriented products and compelling design, in addition to the strengthening of the regions, particularly China and North America. By introducing performance programs in all divisions, the Group has made notable strides towards a sustainable increase in profitability.
Volkswagen and Mahindra sign supply agreement
Volkswagen Group and Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. (M&M) have signed the first supply agreement on components of Volkswagen´s MEB for Mahindra’s purpose-built electric platform INGLO, taking a definitive step further on their joint vision for e-mobility collaboration. The deal covers the supply of certain electric components as well as unified cells. With the agreement, Volkswagen and Mahindra are further deepening their collaboration which started with a partnering agreement and a term sheet in 2022. Both companies will continue to evaluate a potential expansion of the collaboration.
Volkswagen AG and Volkswagen Financial Services AG with further credit rating in the A-category
Volkswagen Group strengthens its Technical Development Board function in China
The Volkswagen Group is strengthening its Technical Development Board function in the China region as part of its “In China, for China” strategy. Thomas Ulbrich, former Member of the Board of Management of the Volkswagen Brand for “New Mobility”, will head up Technical Development for the Group in China from April 1, 2024. In his new capacity, Ulbrich, who has already held two management positions for the Group in China, will continue to advance the technological localization of the portfolio. He succeeds Marcus Hafkemeyer, who – with his extensive experience of China – will support the company’s transformation in a new role in the Group.
Volkswagen Group posts solid growth in deliveries in 2023 and strong increase in all-electric vehicles
The Volkswagen Group increased its deliveries in 2023 by
12 percent to 9.24 million vehicles. All regions contributed to this growth, with Europe
(+19.7 percent) and North America (+17.9 percent) being the main drivers. China, the Group’s largest single market, grew by 1.6 percent despite a challenging market environment. The Volkswagen Group expanded its market share in Europe as well as North and South America and thus also increased slightly worldwide. Almost all brands recorded growth, in some cases substantial. SEAT/CUPRA achieved the highest increase in the passenger car segment with a rise of 34.6 percent, while MAN led the way in the truck segment with an increase of 37.1 percent. At the same time, the Volkswagen Group successfully continued its transformation and delivered 771,100 fully electric vehicles. This corresponds to an increase of 34.7 percent compared to the previous year. The share of all-electric vehicles in deliveries rose to 8.3 percent compared to 6.9 percent in 2022.
PowerCo confirms results: QuantumScape’s solid-state cell passes first endurance test
The solid-state cell is considered a technology of the future and the next big step in battery development. The technology promises longer ranges, shorter charging times and maximum safety. The U.S. company QuantumScape has recently reached an important milestone, which was now confirmed by PowerCo: its solid-state cell has significantly exceeded the requirements in the A-sample test and successfully completed more than 1,000 charging cycles. For an electric car with a WLTP range of 500-600 kilometres, this corresponds to a total mileage of more than half a million kilometres. At the same time, the cell barely aged and still had 95 percent of its capacity (or discharge energy retention) at the end of the test. The tests, which ran for several months, were carried out in PowerCo’s battery laboratories in Salzgitter
Volkswagen brand’s biggest performance program on track, with earnings contribution of up to four billion euros expected for 2024
The Volkswagen brand has achieved an important milestone in the “Accelerate Forward/ Road to 6.5” global performance program, with management and employee representatives reaching agreement on key points to streamline the company, following intensive negotiations. The objective of the three-year program is to secure the Volkswagen Group’s core brand competitiveness, ensure it is future-proof and sustainable in the long term. The Volkswagen brand aims to make a positive earnings contribution totaling ten billion euros by 2026, also to offset negative effects such as inflation and higher raw material costs. The operating return on sales is expected to improve sustainably to 6.5 percent in 2026. The Volkswagen brand projects that the program will deliver positive earnings contributions of up to four billion euros as early as 2024. To achieve this, the Company concentrates on performance-enhancing and cost-saving measures in the program’s three focus areas: optimizing material and product costs, reducing fixed and manufacturing costs and increasing revenues. The Company and the employee representatives have also reached agreement on staff reduction measures to cut personnel and labor costs. These measures will apply throughout Volkswagen AG. As such, from January 2024 the Company will extend its partial retirement schemes to all employees born in 1967 (and for severely handicapped employees born in 1968), to reduce administrative staff costs in particular. The current hiring freeze and access freeze to the Tarif Plus salary group will continue until further notice.
