Audi cuts estimates again. Škoda shines and improves Volkswagen accounts
The manufacturer of the Four Rings reduced its margin forecasts due to the impact of tariffs and the electric transition. In contrast, Volkswagen's Brand Group Core posted solid results for the nine months
Audi has revised its profitability forecasts downwards for the second time this year. The Volkswagen Group's premium subsidiary now estimates an operating margin of between 4% and 6%, down from the 5-7% previously forecast, due to US tariffs and costs associated with the electric transition. The revenue target remains unchanged, but the impact of tariffs, which cost 850 million in the first nine months and are estimated at 1.3 billion by year-end, is weighing increasingly heavily on the accounts.
"The situation remains very challenging," said cfo Jürgen Rittersberger, adding that Audi will decide by the end of the year whether to build a production plant in the US to reduce tariff exposure. In the third quarter, the brand posted an operating margin of 2%, with a profit of 280 million, recovering from the red in 2024. In the first nine months, the average margin fell to 3.2% (from 4.5%), squeezed by tariffs, restructuring and emissions regulations.
Audi (which also includes Lamborghini, Bentley and Ducati) is suffering from global competitive pressure and uncertainties in the supply of semiconductors, following tensions over the Dutch manufacturer Nexperia. 'We are reducing complexity and optimising costs in order to respond to a difficult environment,' added Rittersberger.
On the volume front, Volkswagen's Brand Group Core (which includes the Volkswagen, Škoda, Seat/Cupra and Commercial Vehicle brands) posted solid results. In the first nine months, deliveries rose 4% to 3.77 million vehicles, with revenues of EUR 106.9 billion (+5.3%) and operating profit of EUR 4.7 billion (+6.8%). The group's average margin is 4.4%, but the real star is Škoda, which with a margin of 8% - about twice that of the Brand Group Core and almost four times that of the Volkswagen Group's overall profitability - is the Wolfsburg conglomerate's locomotive.
The Czech manufacturer increased deliveries by 14% to 765,000 units, driven by strong demand for the electric Elroq and a jump in sales in India (+106%). Weaker on the other hand were Seat/Cupra, penalised by the costs of Bev models and European tariffs on the Chinese-produced Tavascan, and Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, whose profitability fell to 1.8%.
