Volkswagen Q3 Loss Widens Sharply On Charge, Weak Volume; Confirms FY26 View

(RTTNews) - German automotive major Volkswagen AG reported Thursday sharply wider net loss in its third quarter on an impairment charge related to Porsche AG and weak revenues amid lower production and sales volume. Further, the firm maintained its recently lowered fiscal 2026 outlook.

On the XETRA in Germany, Volkswagen shares were losing around 1.08 percent, trading at $68.45.

Arno Antlitz, CFO and COO Volkswagen Group, said, "Electric vehicles account for 40 percent of our order bank. Our Electric Urban Car Family, with 150,000 orders, is making a major contribution to this. At the same time, US tariffs weigh on us, the Chinese market is shrinking, and competitive pressure in Europe is increasing significantly. The market success of our electric vehicles is putting additional pressure on our earnings, as we currently earn less from electric vehicles than from combustion-engine vehicles."

Antlitz further said that in the Future Plan, a streamlined model range, simpler structures, improved vehicle costs, lower overhead costs, greater efficiency in plants, and faster technology development would form a comprehensive cost program of around 31 billion euros.

Looking ahead for fiscal 2026, Volkswagen continues to expect Group sales revenue of around €315 billion, and operating return on sales to reach up to 1 percent.

The company in mid- September had lowered its outlook for fiscal 2026, citing a goodwill impairment of approximately 6 billion euros related to Porsche AG, a challenging market environment, particularly in China, and additional restructuring expenses.

In the third quarter, Volkswagen's loss totaled 4.648 billion euros or 9.29 euros per share, wider than loss of 482 million euros or 0.96 euro per share last year.

Operating loss was 5.860 billion euros, wider than loss of 1.299 billion euros last year. Operating margin was negative 7.8 percent, compared to negative 1.6 percent a year ago.

The company's sales revenue for the period fell 6.3 percent to 75.277 billion euros from 80.305 billion euros a year ago.

Deliveries to customers declined 14.3 percent to 1.885 million units from last year's 2.199 million units.

Vehicle sales were 1.883 million units, down 15.1 percent from 2.218 million units a year earlier.

Production also was down 15.9 percent to 1.786 million units from prior year's 2.125 million units.

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