Interim Report & Results Q1 2026

“We made further progress in the first quarter of 2026: order intake in Europe improved, our ‘In China, for China’ strategy is progressing, we reduced overhead costs by nearly 1 billion EUR, and net cash flow reached 2 billion EUR. Despite this progress, our operating margin – even before special effects – remains far too low at 4.3 percent. Since we launched the Volkswagen Future Program one and a half years ago, the world has changed significantly: tariffs have been imposed, competition in China continues to intensify, and Chinese players are increasingly exporting competitive pressure to Europe. In this environment, the planned cost reductions are not enough. We must fundamentally transform our business model and achieve structural, sustainable improvements. This includes improving the cost structure of our vehicles without compromising product substance, significantly reducing overhead costs, increasing the efficiency of our plants, and accelerating technology development and decision-making. We can only achieve this by significantly reducing complexity – in our product portfolio and technology platforms, as well as in the number of entities and decision-making layers. This is what we will focus on in the coming months.”