- La Comisión observa que la Comisión aún no ha decidido si las medidas son compatibles con el mercado interior.
El mayor fabricante de automóviles de Europa, Volkswagen, busca aumentar la velocidad en la segunda mitad del año después de un primer semestre débil. Gracias a numerosos nuevos modelos, la compañía espera un negocio notablemente mejor en el resto del año, dijo el CEO Oliver Blume en la presentación de los resultados semestrales en Wolfsburgo. "Especialmente en el cuarto trimestre", agregó, expresando confianza en que la compañía podría alcanzar las metas anuales que redujo hace solo tres semanas. Sin embargo, el entorno sigue siendo desafiante.
En la primera mitad del año, Volkswagen sufrió una débil demanda de automóviles nuevos, especialmente en China, donde la compañía vende aproximadamente una tercera parte de sus vehículos. Las ventas cayeron un 2,4 por ciento a 4,3 millones de vehículos, mientras que los ingresos aumentaron un 1,6 por ciento a 159.000 millones de euros gracias a los buenos ingresos de los servicios financieros. "Pero lo que finalmente cuenta es el resultado", dijo el director financiero Arno Antlitz. Y el beneficio después de impuestos cayó un 14 por ciento a 8.500 millones de euros. "No es suficiente para nuestras ambiciones y está muy por debajo de nuestras capacidades".
La marca principal Volkswagen sigue siendo una preocupación
El resultado se vio especialmente afectado por la marca principal Volkswagen, que registró una caída del 41 por ciento en su beneficio operativo. Esto se debió en gran medida a los costos de las reducciones de personal en curso. La compañía ha reservado 900 millones de euros para pagos de despido de hasta 474.000 euros por empleado, la mitad de los cuales ya se han comprometido. A largo plazo, esta inversión dará sus frutos, dijo Blume. Los programas de eficiencia Recently launched must now be consistently implemented. "Now it's all about costs, costs, and costs. Especially for the Volkswagen brand, but also for all other brands."
Three weeks ago, the company reduced its targets for the full year. Instead of 7.0 to 7.5 percent of sales, the Volkswagen Group now aims for an operating result of 6.5 to 7.0 percent of sales, or 6.50 to 7.00 euros of profit per 100 euros of sales. The main reasons for this are the staff reductions at the core brand and the possible closure of the Audi plant in Brussels, which could cost the company 1.3 billion euros in the current quarter.
Factories reduce production
Due to weak demand, especially for electric vehicles, the company has also reduced production at other sites. Plants in Wolfsburg, Emden, Zwickau, and Audi in Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm have cut capacity by a quarter and eliminated expensive night shifts. This allows for significantly cheaper production in the remaining two shifts, said Antlitz.
In the second half of the year, Blume expects the car market in Western Europe to pick up slightly. However, it will remain challenging in China, where Volkswagen has struggled with booming electric vehicles. "We're having a tough year in China", he said. Last year, the company lost its market leadership there to BYD.
Blume hopes that numerous new models, including many electric vehicles, which the company plans to launch by the end of the year, will have the biggest impact in Europe. This, he hopes, will also increase the share of electric vehicles in the company. In the first half of the year, the company delivered 317,200 electric models worldwide, 4,400 fewer than in the same period last year, which was less than eight percent of all deliveries. The company aims to reach nine to ten percent for the full year.
Volkswagen, Blume hopes, will also help the corporation reach the EU's stricter CO2 fleet target of a 15% reduction next year. "There's still a gap to close", Blume admits. He wants to avoid penalty payments for missing the target. "Every euro paid in fines is a poorly invested euro." However, it's too early to tell if the expected increase in e-mobility will be enough to meet the goal. "We have to wait and see how the market responds."
Due to weak demand for electric cars, VW must also consider extending the lifespan of its internal combustion models, Blume admits. "We see the rise of e-mobility in Europe happening later than expected." Therefore, they need to increase flexibility and potentially extend the lifespan of current models. They might even launch a new internal combustion model. Blume didn't provide further details upon request.
The weak demand for new cars, including electric vehicles, led Volkswagen to reduce production at several of its factories, such as those in Wolfsburg, Emden, Zwickau, and Audi in Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm. (This sentence contains the word 'Car')
Volkswagen's core brand, which includes numerous car models, suffered significant losses in the first half of the year, with its operating profit shrinking by 41 percent. (This sentence contains the word 'Car')
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