#Brands

The Volkswagen Group is the most successful manufacturer at the 49th edition of "The Golden Steering Wheel". Every year, the German trade magazine AUTO BILD and the BILD am SONNTAG newspaper recognise outstanding new models with this award. Of the twelve trophies awarded in total, six went to Volkswagen Group brands. The core brand Volkswagen achieved a historic success with four category wins. No other brand has ever received so many “Golden Steering Wheels” in a single year. Two further prizes were awarded to the CUPRA and Porsche brands.

Alexander Schmitt will become the new Chief Procurement Officer and member of the Executive Board of PowerCo SE from November 18, 2025. This decision was approved today by the Supervisory Board of PowerCo SE. Schmitt has worked for mining company Anglo-American, based in London, where he was responsible for customer business as Chief Marketing Officer. As Chief Procurement Officer, he will be responsible for the entire procurement of raw materials, components and equipment as well as supplier management and value engineering. He succeeds Jörg Teichmann, who is stepping down by mutual agreement and will take on a new role in the Volkswagen Group.

With the opening of the new Porsche Charging Lounge in Himmelkron, the brand's own fast-charging network has grown to 10 locations in Europe. Through the Porsche Charging Service, customers now have access to more than one million charging points across 27 European countries – including more than 95,000 fast-charging points with at least 150 kW. At the same time, the sports car manufacturer has revised the tariff structure of Porsche Charging Plus and extended the free idle time for AC charging to up to 14 hours.

SEAT S.A. continues to navigate a complex landscape in 2025, as reflected in the company's financial results for the period between January and September. Despite higher sales revenue, the company’s operating profit declined compared with the same period in 2024, mainly due to the sales mix; EU tariffs on the CUPRA Tavascan, manufactured in China; and product costs.

In the first three quarters of 2025, Škoda Auto recorded strong key financial indicators: revenue rose to €22.344 billion (+9.5%), operating profit increased to €1.790 billion (+5.4%) and net cash flow stood at a very robust level, amounting to €1.934 billion (–2.8%). Return on Sales (RoS) remained at a solid 8.0% (2024: 8.3%), confirming Škoda’s position as one of the most profitable European volume car brands. 765,700 vehicles were delivered to customers worldwide, a year-on-year increase of 14.1%. In Europe (EU27, UK, Switzerland, Norway and Iceland), the brand delivered 616,300 vehicles, holding third place overall in the region. BEV and PHEV models accounted for 24.1% of deliveries (2024: 11.1%), with the Elroq and Enyaq models ranking third and sixth in Europe’s BEV sales. Additionally, the Elroq passed the milestone of 100,000 orders since the start of sales. Škoda’s internationalisation strategy is also taking effect, with an all-time high of 49,400 vehicles delivered in the Indian market (+106.1%). In Vietnam, production of the Kushaq started earlier this year, and production and sales of the Slavia began in September.

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 Audi Group’s financial performance in the first nine months of 2025 reflects the challenging economic situation. Revenue during the reporting period amounted to approximately 48.4 billion euros, an increase of 4.6 percent compared to the same period last year. Operating profit totaled around 1.6 billion euros, while net cash flow reached 2.1 billion euros. In total, the Brand Group Progressive* delivered 1,191,141 vehicles in the first nine months. Demand was particularly strong for Audi electric vehicles, with a growth of 41 percent. Audi remains committed to its course: with the introduction of a new design philosophy and corporate strategy, Audi is embarking on the next chapter of its transformation.

Despite a persistently weak and uncertain market environment, the TRATON GROUP managed to keep its sales revenue in Europe nearly stable in the first nine months of 2025.

TRATON successfully launched its first group-wide Green Finance Framework to accelerate financings and refinancings of battery-electric commercial vehicles (BEV) throughout the entire value chain.

Lüneburg Heath is known for its extensive heathlands, green forests and quiet moors. Now there is an additional attraction for Taycan and Macan drivers after the ninth Porsche Charging Lounge opened, in Evendorf/Nordheide. Like all of the brand-exclusive fast-charging stations it offers a very high charging performance of up to 400 kW, a relaxed ambience and the central processing of charging costs via the Porsche Charging Service.

The Supervisory Board of Porsche AG has appointed Dr. Michael Leiters as CEO of Porsche AG, effective as of January 1, 2026. Dr. Oliver Blume, who has led Porsche AG as CEO for ten years, will continue to serve as CEO of Volkswagen Group.

In a persistently weak and uncertain market environment, the TRATON GROUP’s unit sales declined by 16% year-over-year in the third quarter of 2025.

The Supervisory Board of SEAT and CUPRA, chaired by Thomas Schäfer -Member of the Board of Management of Volkswagen AG, Brand Group Core, and CEO of the Volkswagen brand- has appointed Markus Haupt as the new Chief Executive Officer of SEAT and CUPRA, effective immediately. Haupt has been serving as interim CEO since April 1, and now, with the full support of the company’s Executive Committee, formally assumes the position on a permanent basis.

Porsche has significantly increased the proportion of electrified vehicles sold in the first nine months of 2025. A total of 212,509 cars were delivered to customers worldwide between January and September, of which 35.2 per cent were electrified (+12.8 percentage points). Fully electric vehicles made up 23.1 per cent, while 12.1 per cent were plug-in hybrids.