Volkswagen gives muted outlook amid trade wars and rising competition

Record ID: 1983133

  • Title: Volkswagen gives muted outlook amid trade wars and rising competition
  • Date: 11th March 2025
  • Summary: KYIV, UKRAINE (MARCH 12, 2025) (REUTERS) UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT, VOLODYMYR ZELENSKIY, ARRIVING FOR PRESS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (Ukrainian) UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT, VOLODYMYR ZELENSKIY, SAYING: "I am very serious (about a ceasefire) and for me it is important to end the war. I want the President of the United States to see it, I want Americans to see and feel it. I want Europe an
  • Embargoed:
  • Keywords: EV TARIFFS VW china results trump usa
  • Location: HANOVER, GERMANY / VARIOUS
  • City: HANOVER, GERMANY / VARIOUS
  • Country: Germany
  • Topics: Europe,Economic Events
  • Reuters ID: LVA005780011032025RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Volkswagen, Europe's top carmaker, forecast another challenging year of ramping up EV sales, cutting costs, and navigating trade tensions as it seeks to streamline its operations in Europe and catch up with cheaper and faster rivals in China.
    The carmaker is in the midst of deep changes in its two main markets of China and Germany, with earnings forecast to drop in China by up to 1 billion euros ($1.09 billion) as it steps back to work on new models, and major cost cuts underway in Germany which should yield 1 billion euros in savings by year-end, CFO Arno Antlitz said at its annual results conference on Tuesday (March 11).
    In North America, a major export market for Volkswagen, Chief Executive Oliver Blume said the carmaker was waiting to see what's on the table regarding Donald Trump's threats to impose tariffs on imports from Mexico and the EU, but remains committed to boosting its market share in the United States.
    Asked about tumbling U.S. stocks as investors fear Trump's policies will trigger a U.S. recession, CFO Antlitz said that the carmaker could only focus on what was in its control.
    Still, Blume said executives were reviewing plans to bring its CUPRA brand to some U.S. states from 2030, doing a 'reality check' of how the market would develop regarding demand for electric cars.
    Volkswagen reported on Tuesday that it expected at best a slight increase in its 2025 operating profit margin, in a range of 5.5% to 6.5%, compared with 5.9% in 2024 as the cost of producing both EVs and combustion engine cars and constructing battery cell plants weighed on earnings.
    (Production: Tanya Wood, Laura Urraca-Makuch)
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