Volkswagen Group is feeling the effects of mixed fortunes for automotive markets around the world. The group announced last week that first quarter revenue and operating profit were down, but has now provided further detail revealing a drop of 46% to operating profit at the Volkswagen passenger car brand in the quarter.
The Volkswagen passenger cars brand sold 1.1m cars in the first quarter, down 2.4% on the prior-year figure. The brand’s operating profit was EUR590m (down 46% on EUR1,100m last year), and was weighed down by “lower volumes and negative mix effects”, VW said.
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The VW Group as a whole got some support from its premium brands and higher sales in North America and China. Group sales revenue in the first three months amounted to EUR46.6bn (EUR47.3bn last year). Operating profit was down on the prior-year level at EUR2.3bn (EUR3.2bn last year).
“We made a healthy start to the year, but the coming months will be anything but easy. The current environment is definitely a tough challenge for the entire industry,” said VW Group chairman Martin Winterkorn.
Nevertheless, the VW Group is sticking to its goals for 2013. Deliveries to customers are expected to increase year-on-year.
