The group with ten automotive brands (VW, Audi, Skoda, Porsche, Seat …), the first European manufacturer, gave a profit of 2.3 billion euros (barely less in francs), down 36.3% over a year between April and June, he said on Friday.
For 2025, the group now provides for operational margin for sales between 4 and 5%, compared to 5.5 to 6.5% before and turnover in the previous year (against an increase up to 5% previously).
It is a little better than what the consensus of the experts questioned by the FactSet financial platform provided for, which was tabling on a net result divided by two.
With regard to the plunge of profit, turnover only displayed a slight decrease (-3%) to 80.81 billion in the second quarter, which testifies to the maintenance of car sales (+1.2%) in the world from April to June.
But several factors contributed to the decline in the manufacturer’s operating margin, which reached only 4.7%, compared to 6.5% at the same period last year.
“The drop in operating profit is mainly explained by heavy expenses linked to the increase in import duties in the United States,” said the group.
Washington enhanced customs duties on vehicles at 27.5% from April, instead of 2.5% before, a blow for German manufacturers since the United States represents its third market.
The good form of this market had made it possible last year to partially compensate for the fall in its sales in China, where the group has long made more than a third of its sales.
But this quarter, the volume of vehicles delivered to American concessionaires dropped by 16.2%.
Manufacturers are now afraid of a second salvo of customs duties with the American president’s threat to impose a 30% tax on all products imported from Europe from August, unless agreed with the European Commission.
The result was also sealed by the provisions necessary for the restructuring of Audi and VW brands in difficulty, and of Cariad, its software unit, and by the charges linked to the European Union CO2 emissions, added the press release.
The group launched a restructuring plan from the end of 2022 to try to catch up. This winter he announced this winter in the coming years of 35,000 jobs and the stopping of production in two German factories, a historic first.
Finally, the sharp increase in its sales of electric vehicles (+37.6%), less profitable due to the still high cost of batteries, also had an impact on the margins.
Not to mention customs duties and costs related to restructuring, the operational profitability of sales would be 5.6%, according to Volkswagen.
