Brand Group Core boosts vehicle sales, sales revenue and result – restructuring costs have adverse impact
Wolfsburg. In the first nine months of 2025, the Brand Group Core continued its positive development and significantly improved vehicle sales, sales revenue and the operating result.
The main drivers of this positive development were cost reductions resulting from the performance programs of the brands, as a result of which the operating result of the brand group grew 6.8% to 4.7 billion euros (+6.8%). Successful model launches and strong demand for models such as the Tayron, T-Cross und ID.7 Tourer, as well as the new Volkswagen Transporter/Multivan, CUPRA Terramar and Škoda Elroq also contributed to this success. However, the ramp-up of the lower-margin electric vehicles as well as expenses for US import duties had a significant negative influence on the cumulative result. Restructuring measures, especially for the Volkswagen brand, had further negative impact on the result and net cash flow.
“Even in the traditionally challenging third quarter, when the plant vacation season has a pronounced effect, the strength of the Brand Group Core has been evident. In the first nine months of the year, we significantly improved vehicle sales, sales revenue and the operating result. Our active work on costs is gaining traction. However, at the same time, special items are having a significant adverse impact on our result. On a positive note, we are successfully launching new models in the marketplace faster than before. This will be the crucial lever for safeguarding our competitiveness as a brand group in the global environment.”
Key Figures
Compared with the previous year, unit sales grew by 4.0%. Growth was driven especially by new models with all types of powertrain.
In overall terms, the core brands were able to win market shares.
In a highly competitive environment, the sales revenue of the Brand Group Core grew significantly by 5.3%, buoyed by higher unit sales.
Despite significant additional expenses for US import duties and the ramp-up of lower-margin electric vehicles, the operating result was boosted by 6.8% compared with the same prior-year period. Higher unit sales and cost reductions as a result of the salary effects of the “Zukunft Volkswagen” program had a positive impact.
Despite additional adverse impacts, the operating margin remained stable at the prior-year level. Without the adverse impacts mentioned, the operating margin of the Brand Group would be 5.5% and that of the Volkswagen brand would be 4.0%.
Compared with the previous year, net cash flow improved by 1.45 billion euros as a result of inventory reductions, disciplined investment policies and reduced development expenses.
Review: Q3 / Jan-Sept 2025
In the third quarter of 2025, the Brand Group Core continued its positive development in terms of vehicle sales, sales revenue and operating result and benefited from the broad-based cross-brand product offensive.
The successful launch of the Volkswagen Tayron as well as strong demand for the
T-Cross and new models such as the ID.7 Tourer, Transporter/Multivan, CUPRA Terramar and Škoda Elroq resulted in high levels of incoming orders.
Thanks to more intensive cooperation within the development network, it was possible to reduce costs and improve the operating result. Shared technologies and standards allow synergy effects across all the brands. The performance programs of the Brand Group Core brands bore fruit in terms of fixed costs, which were reduced significantly both in percentage and absolute terms compared with the same prior-year period.
The first nine months of the year were impacted by negative exchange rate effects and a changed model mix with a higher BEV share.
US import duties and restructuring measures with a total amount of about 1.1 billion euros also had significant adverse impact. Without these effects, the cumulative operating margin of the Brand Group Core would have been 5.5% and that of the Volkswagen brand would have been 4.0%
Outlook
Within the Brand Group Core, the focus is on the consistent implementation of cost reductions from the brands’ performance programs.
The Volkswagen brand is working consistently on the implementation of the “BOOST 2030” corporate strategy with a view to becoming the world’s technologically leading volume manufacturer by 2030.
The key levers are the continuous improvement of efficiency, more intensive cross-brand cooperation and leveraging synergy potentials within the global production and development network.
The production network within the brand group is controlled via five regions in order to effectively utilize regional strengths and to align production even more efficiently.
At the same time, Technical Development is also being reorganized across the brands with a view to significantly reducing development times and reacting faster to the needs of customers and the marketplace.
With the launch of the cross-brand Electric Urban Car Family from 2026 under the project management of SEAT/CUPRA , the Brand Group Core will be setting a further milestone on the way to affordable, sustainable e-mobility.
The four planned models – two from the Volkswagen brand and one each from CUPRA and Škoda – will be built at the Spanish plants in Martorell and Pamplona. The “Electric Urban Car Family” project will unlock synergy potential of more than 600 million euros across the entire product life cycle.
Overview of the brands in the Brand Group Core
Volkswagen Passenger Cars
In the first nine months of 2025, Volkswagen Passenger Cars delivered 2.28 million vehicles, a rise of about 0.8% over the comparable prior-year period. This figure was buoyed especially by high demand for the models in the ID. family, the SUVs T-Cross and T-Roc as well as the newly launched Tayron. At 63.8 billion euros, sales revenues grew by 0.4% compared with the same prior-year period (63.5 billion euros). The operating result rose to 1.48 billion euros (previous year: 1.28 billion euros) while the operating return increased to 2.3% (previous year: 2.0%). Cost reductions from the “Zukunft Volkswagen” program had a positive effect while the operating result was „Das Q1-Ergebnis der Marke Volkswagen ist aufgrund negatively impacted by special items arising from the US enormer gegenläufiger Effekte nicht zufriedenstellend. Wir import tariffs, restructuring costs and the ramp up of lower-margin electric vehicles. sind jedoch fest davon überzeugt, dass wir mit unserer guten Produktsubstanz die verlorene Traktion schnell Without these special items, the operating margin of the Volkswagen brand after zurückgewinnen können. Mit unserem Performance- nine months would have been 4.0%.
Škoda Auto
Škoda Auto continued its successful development in vehicle sales, sales revenue and profit in the first nine months of 2025. With 765,700 vehicles delivered, Škoda boosted unit sales by 14.1% compared with the prior year period, reinforcing its position as the third strongest automobile brand in Europe. The total unit sales of the Škoda Auto Group, including deliveries to the sales companies of other brands in the Volkswagen Group, amounted to 869,700 vehicles. Sales revenue grew by 9.5% to 22.344 billion euros. The operating result improved by 5.4% to 1.79 billion euros, resulting in a solid operating revenue of 8.0%. In addition, Škoda successfully continued its electrification strategy in Europe. The share of electric vehicles (BEV and PHEV) in the portfolio rose from 11.1% in the comparable prior year period to 24.1%. This development was especially due to the Elroq with orders since the beginning of sales already reaching 100,000. The internationalization strategy of the brand is also gaining traction, especially in India, where a delivery record of 49,400 vehicles (+106.1%) was reached.
SEAT/CUPRA
SEAT S.A. generated sales revenue of 11.241 billion euros in the first nine months of 2025, corresponding to a rise of 6.9% compared with the same prior- year period (10.515 billion euros). Vehicle sales also grew to 480,600 vehicles (Jan-Sept 2024:466,400). The operating result fell to 16 million euros, some 399 million euros lower than the previous year (Jan-Sept 2024: 415 million euros). There was a corresponding drop in the operating margin to 0.1% (Jan-Sept 2024: 3.9%, a fall of 3.8 percentage points). This decline is due to several factors: a shift in the sales mix to battery-electric vehicles and European import duties on the CUPRA Tavascan produced in China. A complex global environment and heightened competition – especially in key markets for BEV models – also stepped up the pressure.
Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles
In the first nine months of the current year, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles (VWN) grew sales by five percent compared with the same prior-year period to 324,000 vehicles. In the same period, sales revenue rose by 13 percent to 12.5 billion euros. The mix effect as a result of the shift from ICE to higher-priced BEV models is the main reason for this increase. The fall in deliveries to customers to 278,200 vehicles (-10.7 percent compared with the same prior-year period) was mainly due to the market launch of the new Transporter which is still in the start- up or ramp-up phase in many markets. There was an especially positive development in the delivery figure for the all-electric vehicles of VWN , which almost doubled to 39,600 vehicles in the period under review. This development continued to be driven by the ID. Buzz. With a market share of 22.5 percent, the ID. Buzz remains the European (EU 27+4) market leader for electric light commercial vehicles after nine months of the year. At the end of the third quarter, the cumulative operating result of the brand was 220 million euros (previous year: 599 million euros). There was a corresponding fall of 3.7 percentage points in the operating margin, which reached 1.8 percent.
Key figures for the Brand Group Core:
Key financials | Jan-Sept 2025 | Jan-Sept 2024 | Change 25 /24 |
Unit sales (thousand units including vehicles of other brands) | 3.771 | 3.627 | +4.0% |
Sales revenue | 106.950 billion € | 101.523 billion € | +5.3% |
Operating result | 4.719 billion € | 4.419 billion € | +6.8% |
Operating margin | 4.41% | 4.35% | +0.1% points |
Net cash flow | 4.340 billion € | 2.894 billion € | +1.446 billion € |
Key figures for the brands belonging to the Brand Group Core:
Unit sales | Sales revenue | Operating result | Operating margin | |||||
Units/Mill. € | Jan-Sept | Jan-Sept | Jan-Sept 25 | Jan-Sept 24 | Jan-Sept | Jan-Sept | Jan-Sept 25 | Jan-Sept 24 |
Volkswagen Passenger Cars | 2,279,197* | 2,260,151* | 63,811 | 63,535 | 1,476 | 1,281 | 2.3% | 2.0% |
869,653* | 808,647* | 22,342 | 20,399 | 1,790 | 1,699 | 8.0% | 8.3% | |
SEAT/CUPRA | 480,627* | 466,374* | 11,241 | 10,515 | 16 | 415 | 0.1% | 3.9% |
Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles car | 323,900 | 309,837 | 12,539 | 11,093 | 220 | 599 | 1.8% | 5.4% |
*) Also includes sales to sales companies including other Group brands