All Press Releases

Volkswagen Group Components presents a holistic concept with its partner eClassics for the subsequent electrification of the historic Volkswagen Beetle. The conversion exclusively uses new parts they have mutually agreed on from the series production of Volkswagen Group Components. The electric drive, the 1-speed gearbox and the battery system are based on the new VW e-up!. The conversion of the historic Beetle is being carried out by the specialist company eClassics. Its premiere is being celebrated with a near-production version of the e-Beetle at the International Motor Show (IAA) in Frankfurt, Germany.

The Volkswagen Group is orienting its after sales business fully towards meeting the up-coming challenges of digitalization and e-mobility. The growing number of electric vehicles with maintenance costs that are about 20 to 30 percent lower than conventional vehicles will have an impact on after sales business in the future. Nevertheless, the Group plans to considerably boost sales and profit from after sales over the next few years. The main drivers will be growing customer loyalty through digital services and the steady growth in the fleet of Group vehicles. Currently, 100 million vehicles receive support from 25,000 service stations throughout the world. By 2030, there will already be about 150 million vehicles. With sales of €15.9 billion in 2018 for genuine parts alone, after sales accounts for a significant share in Group sales. In comparison with 2017, sales grew by about 2 percent. As part of the e-mobility offensive, it is planned to build a warehouse for high-voltage batteries at the Kassel plant. Dr. Christian Dahlheim, Head of Group Sales: “After sales business has been a mainstay of the Volkswagen Group’s profit for many years. Against the backdrop of the transformation towards e-mobility and digitalization, we are working intensively to ensure that this remains the case in the future. We will continue to significantly expand this business area, which is important for us and our service partners, in the future.”

In July, there was a drop of 2.4 percent in deliveries by the Volkswagen Group compared with July 2018, to 886,100 vehicles. In Europe, deliveries fell by 3.6 percent to 393,600 vehicles. This development had been expected as deliveries in July 2018 had been especially high as a result of the WLTP changeover. In the regions of North America (-0.9 percent) and Asia-Pacific (-0.3 percent), deliveries were slightly below the levels for July 2018. There was a pos-itive development in South America (+3.2 percent) compared with the same month last year. Dr. Christian Dahlheim, Head of Volkswagen Group Sales: “The Volkswagen Group has made a solid start to the second half of the year and has once again slightly increased its market share in a global market that is generally shrinking. It is especially gratifying to note that we have grown in our most important market, China, despite the general downward trend in the market.”

Volkswagen is expanding its activities in the field of charging infrastructure and is to cooperate closely with has·to·be GmbH, a leading provider of operating systems for e-mobility. Volkswagen Group company Elli is to acquire a minority stake in the company. Together, has·to·be and Volkswagen will forge ahead with the expansion of the pan-European charging network and participate in the rapidly growing market for charging solutions. Some of the Group’s own charging stations are already operating using has·to·be software and are therefore part of a holistic, integrated charging ecosystem.

The Volkswagen Group has confirmed its targets before special items for the year as a whole. In the first six months of the current financial year, the sales revenue of the Volkswagen Group grew by 4.9 percent to €125.2 (119.4) billion compared with the first half of 2018. Despite the negative development in volumes, sales revenue was boosted especially as a re-sult of improvements in the mix and price positioning in the passenger cars business area as well as the good business development in the Financial Services Division and at TRATON. The operating profit before special items improved by 1.9 percent to €10.0 (9.8) billion and operating return on sales before special items amounted to 8.0 (8.2) percent. Improvements in the mix and price positioning as well as lower special items compared with the previous year were more than sufficient to compensate for higher fixed costs, negative currency trends and lower vehicle sales. As a result, the operating profit of the Volkswagen Group in the first half of 2019, at €9.0 (8.2) billion, was 10.3 percent higher than the figure recorded for the first half of 2018. The operating return on sales rose to 7.2 (6.8) percent. The profit of the Chinese joint venture companies, which is included in the result of equity-accounted investments, fell only slightly in a shrinking general market. The pre-tax profit rose by 6.5 percent to €9.6 (9.0) billion. The net liquidity in the Automotive Division was €15.9 billion. Frank Witter, Member of the Board of Management of Volkswagen AG responsible for Finance, said: “In the first half of the year, the Volkswagen Group performed very well in a generally weaker overall market. The development of sales revenue and profit in the first six months is gratifying. We also confirm our outlook for the Volkswagen Group for the year as a whole.”