(Reuters) – Volkswagen reported a 7% drop in its third-quarter global deliveries on Friday amid difficulties in the European auto sector.
Europe’s largest automaker is in the midst of restructuring and is considering closing factories in Germany for the first time due to weak European demand and Chinese competition.
It must also address the challenges posed by vehicle electrification and high production costs in Germany.
“A better cost base, especially in Germany, is essential to remain successful in this environment in the future,” executive committee member Marco Schubert said in a statement.
Volkswagen’s deliveries in China, the world’s largest auto market, fell 15 percent to 711,500 units, joining its premium segment counterparts BMW and Mercedes.
This brought the overall figure down to 2.176 million vehicles.
Deliveries of battery electric vehicles (BEV) fell 9.8% to 189,400 units between July and September.
The automaker has cut its forecast twice in less than three months and expects to deliver around 9 million cars this year, representing an annual decline.
(Reporting Andrey Sychev, Elena Smirnova, editing by Kate Entringer)
Copyright © 2024 Thomson Reuters
I have over 8 years of experience working in the news industry. I have worked as a reporter, editor, and now managing editor at 247 News Agency. I am responsible for the day-to-day operations of the news website and overseeing all of the content that is published. I also write a column for the website, covering mostly market news.
