Volkswagen has cut its 2026 profit guidance, citing a €6bn ($6.88bn) non-cash Porsche goodwill impairment, weaker trading in China and additional restructuring charges.
Following the revised forecast, German newspaper Handelsblatt reported separately that VW regards a further 4,000 roles at Porsche as surplus to requirements.
Porsche CEO Michael Leiters is reportedly drawing up a new strategy built around a smaller model line-up.
Volkswagen now expects group sales revenue of approximately €315bn for 2026, broadly in line with the midpoint of its earlier guidance range of -3% to 0%, down from €321.9bn in 2025.
The German carmaker has lowered its operating return on sales forecast to as much as 1%, a sharp reduction from the previous 4% to 5.5% range and well short of the 4.1% average analyst estimate.
The figure came in at 2.8% in 2025.
Special items totalling roughly €10bn are expected to weigh on operating profit across the full year, of which €0.9bn was already booked in the first half of 2026.
Stripping out these items, Volkswagen said its full year operating return on sales would be around 4%.
The carmaker attributed the revised guidance to persistent weakness in China combined with a quicker-than-expected shift towards battery-electric vehicles, developments it said would fall short of original forecasts, with particular impact on Audi and the VW Passenger Cars brand.
An update to Porsche's long-term planning led to revised assumptions underpinning the sports car maker's enterprise value, including its medium-term corridor of 10% to 15%.
This, in turn, triggered an impairment test that resulted in a non-cash goodwill charge of approximately €6bn, to be recorded in third quarter operating profit.
Further restructuring expenses are anticipated from expanded early retirement provisions and the planned sale of VW Osnabrück, both linked to the "Future of Volkswagen" agreement concluded in late 2024.
Non-cash impairments at fully consolidated units in China are also expected.
Together, these three elements are projected to cut results by around €2bn in the second half of the year, with the bulk of the impact concentrated in the third quarter.
Volkswagen is due to publish interim results for the period ending 30 September 2026 on 29 October 2026.
Earlier this month, the company’s supervisory board approved Future Plan 2030, which includes a further groupwide reduction of approximately 50,000 positions, including management roles.
