Billions in losses at Volkswagen

Crisis at Porsche VW records losses worth billions As of: October 29, 2026 • 9:16 a.m

High depreciation and weak Chinese business have left Volkswagen deeply in the red. The consolidated loss in the third quarter was 5.8 billion euros. VW shares are falling.

Among other things, a write-down on the Porsche goodwill and costs for the group restructuring caused Volkswagen to lose billions. In the summer quarter, the group loss was around 5.8 billion euros, as Europe's largest car manufacturer announced today. The main reason was special effects of 7.8 billion euros.

According to the information, the weak market environment in China, increasing global price and competitive pressure as well as the increased share of lower-margin electric cars in sales also had a negative impact. The group's sales fell by 6.3 percent to around 75.3 billion euros in the third quarter. According to the announcement, CFO Arno Antlitz said that after nine months the operating return on sales, adjusted for special charges, was 3.8 percent. “That is not enough to continue to invest vigorously in our future,” said the manager.

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VW had already launched an extensive savings program to cut 50,000 jobs across the group by 2030, and the company is currently wrestling with employees about further severe cuts. A further 50,000 jobs across the group and four plants in Germany are at risk.

For the third quarter, VW reports a loss of around 5.8 billion euros tagesschau, Das Erste, October 29, 2026 • 12:00 p.m. The already known write-down on the goodwill of the sports and off-road vehicle subsidiary Porsche had a particularly strong impact in the third quarter. According to the information, it amounted to around 6.4 billion euros.

The background is lower expectations for the future development of Stuttgart. A year earlier, the situation at Porsche was one of the main reasons for the quarterly loss. The luxury brand, once a pearl of the company's profits, has been in crisis for a long time.

The slump in China business, US customs policy and course corrections in the electric strategy also had a negative impact on VW. The group has recently suffered further losses in sales: from July to September, the car manufacturer delivered 1.89 million vehicles - almost 14.3 percent less than a year earlier.

VW is under considerable pressure, particularly in the important market of China. The Wolfsburg-based company sold almost 406,000 vehicles there in the third quarter (minus 38.5 percent). By the end of September, the group's brands handed over six million vehicles to their customers. That was 9.0 percent or around 600,000 fewer than in the same period last year.

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VW management around CEO Oliver Blume had already significantly lowered its profit forecast for the current year in mid-September. A maximum of one percent of sales should remain as operating profit in the current year. VW had previously expected a range of 4.0 to 5.5 percent. In 2025, the operating return was 2.8 percent.

Sales are expected to reach around 315 billion euros in 2026. That would be in the middle of the previous forecast range. The group had already capped these expectations in July. Instead of an increase in sales of up to three percent compared to the previous year, Volkswagen only expects stable development in the best case scenario. But there could also be up to three percent less revenue. Last year, sales were 321.9 billion euros.

This topic in the program: The news radio | News | Oct 29, 2026 | 08:00 a.m. Tagesschau24 | News | Oct 29, 2026 | 9:00 a.m