Volkswagen: deliveries all the way down to 9 million. China stays the issue | EUROtoday

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The Volkswagen Group ended 2024 by delivering 9.03 million autos, a decline of two.3% in comparison with the earlier 12 months. This outcome displays the difficulties of an ever-changing world market, marked by declining gross sales in Western Europe, China and Asia, balanced by development in Eastern Europe, the Americas and Africa. In specific, Asia-Pacific suffered a decline of 10.3%, primarily as a result of robust worth competitors in China, the place deliveries fell 9.5% to 2.9 million. The world’s second largest producer (after Toyota) can be second in China, provided that BYD has bought over 3.5 million plug-in hybrid and battery electrical (BEV) vehicles. An issue frequent to different giant German and international gamers usually. On the opposite, North and South America confirmed constructive indicators: gross sales elevated by 6.4% and 14.7% respectively, with Brazil main the expansion in South America (+18.2%).

The BEV sector confirmed a blended image. Globally, deliveries fell 3.4% from 771,100 to 744,800 items. However, in China there was a rise of 8% (to 207 thousand, nevertheless very removed from the just about 8 instances greater than the market chief, BYD), whereas within the United States the battery electrical market suffered a major decline ( -30%). In Europe, regardless of an general decline, Volkswagen maintained a market share of 21%, confirming itself because the chief within the sector. Particularly constructive was the fourth quarter, throughout which BEV deliveries in Europe grew by 18%, bringing the worldwide share of those autos to 9.5% for the interval.

«In a fancy market context – commented the CEO of the German group, Oliver Blume – we managed to ship 9 million autos in 2024. We launched over 30 new fashions, a lot of them 100% electrical, confirming our dedication to innovation and sustainability. This makes us proud and stimulates us to do much more. In 2025 we are going to introduce one other 30 new fashions, persevering with to resume our portfolio to satisfy buyer wants.” Blume is leading the automotive giant, the world’s second largest producer, in an unprecedented historical phase, characterized by tough negotiations with the union, closed before Christmas, to relaunch the Wolfsburg company through an unprecedented cost-cutting plan, fully operational 15 billion.

The biggest challenges, as mentioned, were seen in China, the main market for Volkswagen (traditionally worth a third of profits), where strong competition led to a reduction in deliveries of the VW brand by 1.4%. However, other brands of the group, such as Skoda and Seat/Cupra, showed positive performances. The need to address these dynamics had pushed the group to revise its delivery forecasts for 2024, lowering the annual target to 9 million vehicles as early as September.

Analyzing regional efficiency, Europe maintained a secure place with 3.77 million autos delivered, with a slight decline of 0.4% in Western Europe and development of 1.7% in Central and Eastern Europe. In Germany, the group’s residence market, deliveries fell by 2.2%. In North America, gross sales elevated 6.4 % to 1.06 million autos, pushed by 2 % development within the United States. South America recorded vital development (+14.7%), reaching 594,300 autos.