German carmaker Volkswagen's quarterly loss widens to €5.8bn on a Porsche writedown and China slump, with 100,000 jobs at stake
Volkswagen's vehicle deliveries fell 14.3% year-on-year to 1.89 million units in the quarter, with China sales down 38.5%, as the carmaker flagged €10bn in one-off costs for 2026.
Volkswagen chief executive Oliver Blume's restructuring plan is now under acute pressure after the German carmaker posted its worst quarterly result in over a decade, with losses roughly double what analysts had forecast. Volkswagen's vehicle deliveries collapsed 14.3% year-on-year to 1.89 million units in the quarter, with China alone down 38.5% to just under 406,000 vehicles. Finance chief Arno Antlitz warned the group's underlying return on sales was just 3.8% even before the one-off charges hit.
A €6.4bn goodwill write-down on Porsche, once VW's most profitable brand, drove the bulk of the one-off charges totalling €8bn.
Blume's recovery plan calls for up to 100,000 job cuts and the closure of four German plants, with unions threatening strikes from early 2027.
VW has cut its full-year profit margin guidance to a ceiling of 1% and flagged €10bn in one-off costs for 2026.
