Volkswagen sold slightly fewer cars than a year ago
Volkswagen is feeling the persistent market weakness in China and sold slightly fewer cars in the first half of the year than expected before the deadline. A total of 4,35 million vehicles were delivered, which is slightly below the previous year's level of 4,37 million, as the company announced on a Wednesday. Increases in North America, South America, and Western Europe mostly offset the declines, particularly in China.
Sales boss Hildegard Wortmann spoke of an extremely intense competitive environment in the People's Republic. A spokesperson put the discounts of competitors at up to 50 percent at times, while Volkswagen has consistently emphasized that profitability is a top priority.
However, it went less well for electric cars: Sales in the first half of the year fell to 317,200 vehicles from 321,600 vehicles before the deadline. In Europe and the USA, these vehicles were less in demand, while the China business was attractive. The company expects additional momentum in the second half of the year from new models such as the Audi Q6 e-tron and the Porsche Macan.
Wortmann remained optimistic for the full year and indicated that there would be a slight increase in global deliveries compared to the previous year, due to the launch of numerous important models. In addition, some new plug-in hybrid cars will be introduced to the market.
In the first half of the year, Volkswagen sold fewer cars in China than anticipated, affecting their overall vehicle delivery count. Despite this, Volkswagen's Annual deadline saw a slight decrease in total car deliveries, with 4,35 million vehicles delivered compared to 4,37 million in the previous year. [Volkswagen, Annual deadline, Cars]
Although electric car sales fell slightly from 321,600 to 317,200 vehicles prior to the Annual deadline, Volkswagen remains optimistic about the second half of the year, expecting a boost from new models like the Audi Q6 e-tron and the Porsche Macan. [Electric cars, Annual deadline, New models]
