First Appearance Since the Supervisory Board Meeting: VW Reports Half-Year Results

Sales Are Declining

Day-to-day business is unlikely to provide Blume with any momentum right now. In the second quarter, group-wide deliveries fell by nearly 9 percent to 2.08 million vehicles. The group is under considerable pressure, particularly in the key Chinese market: In China, sales plummeted by more than a third to 424,300 vehicles.

Still, outside of China, Volkswagen’s sales looked somewhat better, especially in Europe; in North America, too, the second quarter saw an upturn compared to the weak same period last year. When it comes to electric cars, the outlook in Europe is brighter in terms of both sales and orders.

Blume: Not Making Enough Money

However, as Blume recently lamented, VW simply isn’t making enough money on its cars. Profits at VW have been in free fall for a long time: In the first quarter, consolidated net income after taxes had already plummeted by nearly a third, and for the full year 2025, it fell by nearly half.

Revenue also declined in the first three months of the year, but only slightly, by 2.5 percent. The operating profit margin thus stood at 3.3 percent. By the end of the year, it’s supposed to be at least 4 percent, and by 2030, at least 8 percent. VW had only scaled back this target at the beginning of the year; previously, the goal had been at least 9 percent.

Job cuts are already underway

Volkswagen has already announced the elimination of 50,000 jobs across the group in Germany by 2030. 35,000 jobs are to be cut at the core brand, with the remainder at subsidiaries such as Audi and Porsche. More than 37,000 employees have already signed the relevant agreements.

However, these cost-cutting measures—agreed upon at the end of 2024—were no longer sufficient in light of the worsening business environment, according to Blume. Tariffs, wars, geopolitical tensions, and increasingly fierce competition are creating headwinds, the CEO said. VW’s previous business model—developing and producing in Europe and selling worldwide—is therefore no longer working. The company must reposition itself and further reduce costs.

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