The Volkswagen Group suffered a 40% drop in profits during the start of 2025, which it blamed on the rise of its electric car sales along with the ongoing “global volatile economic situation”.
Profits for the group - which is made up of the VW brand, Audi, Porsche, Seat and Cupra, among other brands – dropped to €2.19bn (£1.9bn) between January and March this year, down 40.6% on the same period in 2024. This is despite a 1.4% rise in sales to 2.13 million, which resulted in sales revenue of €77.6m (£66m).
Of those sales, in Europe 20% were EVs (10% in other global markets) and overall EV sales rose 64% year on year. While that is good for hitting emission targets, “this market success of our electric cars puts pressure on our result,” said chief financial officer Arno Antlitz. This left the group with an operating margin of 3.7%, which “clearly shows that there is still a considerable amount of work ahead of us,” according to Antlitz.
But he added that this should start to change next year with the launch of the ID 2, which, he said, “could be the first car that could reach matching parity with an ICE equivalent, such as the T-Cross”.
Buoyantly, he said: “We should not give up because the ID 2 family kicks off next year along with more brand-new models coming. We will [introduce] better [battery] chemistry and a new battery type. All this is a step forward in costs for the electrical engine.”
Other financial impacts on the group included the threat of new import tariffs from the US, additional levies on Europe-sold cars made in China – which hit the VW Group in the form of the Cupra Tavascan – and a downturn in sales in China.
On tariffs, Antlitz said it is “too early to make conclusive judgement” and added: “Given the current volatile global economic situation, it is even more important to focus on the levers within our control. This means complementing our great product range with a competitive cost base – so we can ensure we succeed also in rapidly changing global markets.”
Regarding China, where the group's sales fell 6%, he said: “We want to stay relevant in China. We cannot fall below [where we are now]. We want to be ready for 2026 when the new line-up comes in.”
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