Volkswagen in the red, with an operating loss of 5.8 billion for the quarter
The result has been affected by a number of write-downs, as well as difficulties in the Chinese market – the guidance, which had already been revised in September, has been confirmed
The new write-downs (announced to the market last September) have taken their toll on Volkswagen’s profit and loss account, which – partly due to ongoing difficulties in the Chinese market – slipped into the red in the third quarter. The operating loss in September stood at €5.86 billion, a deterioration compared with the same period last year. As mentioned, this was also driven by one-off items, such as write-downs relating to Porsche (amounting to €6.4 billion) and certain restructuring costs (including around €1 billion linked to China and other items relating to the planned sale of the Osnabrück plant). The German group has confirmed its full-year forecasts – which had already been revised downwards in September – with a target margin of no more than 1 per cent.
In the first nine months, revenue fell by 2.2 per cent to 233 billion euros, whilst operating profit was virtually zero, falling to 71 million from 5.4 billion a year earlier. In the third quarter, in particular, revenue fell by 6 per cent to €75.3 billion.
The deterioration in results comes at a time of sharp sales contraction. In the first nine months, Volkswagen delivered 6 million vehicles, 9 per cent fewer than in 2025, with the decline accelerating to 14.3 per cent in the third quarter. China has been the main factor, with deliveries falling by 30 per cent over the nine-month period and by almost 39 per cent between July and September. Growth in Europe and South America was not enough to offset the slump in the Chinese market.
Excluding the approximately €10 billion in write-downs and restructuring costs announced last month, the underlying result was too weak, said CFO Arno Antlitz in a statement, who added that Volkswagen must act “swiftly and decisively” on its reorganisation, accelerating cuts to model complexity, vehicle costs, overheads and factory expenses in order to restore sufficient profitability to fund future technology and products. CEO Oliver Blume anticipates 100,000 job cuts across the group, which includes the Audi and Porsche brands. Up to four plants in Germany are at risk of closure under the plan, which has met with opposition from the trade unions and the prospect of possible strikes from the start of next year.
