Volkswagen reported a drop of around a third in second-quarter profit. Net profit at the struggling carmaker fell 32.9 percent year-on-year to 1.54 billion euros, the company announced on Friday. In the same period of 2025, the figure had been 2.29 billion euros. The main reason for the decline was a drastic drop in sales in China.
The environment for the car industry remains "extremely challenging: geopolitical crises, trade conflicts, high regulatory requirements, volatile markets and intensified competition," said Volkswagen CEO Oliver Blume. Given the difficult situation, the company has lowered its revenue forecast for the full year. The group now expects revenue to develop in a range of minus three to zero percent, having previously forecast growth of zero to three percent.
Worldwide, Volkswagen is debating the elimination of tens of thousands of jobs, with extensive staff cuts already decided. Sales have recently fallen sharply. In Germany, the VW plants in Zwickau, Emden and Hanover, as well as the Audi plant in Neckarsulm, are considered at risk.
"We need to increase our efforts to structurally reduce our cost base and sustainably improve the quality of our results," said Volkswagen Chief Financial Officer Arno Antlitz. He said a "rapid and consistent implementation" was now decisive.
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