Posted By Global Banking and Finance Review
Posted on January 14, 2025
BERLIN (Reuters) -Volkswagen's sales fell 2.3% in 2024 to just over nine million vehicles, the German automaker reported on Tuesday, as it struggles to cut costs at home and fight a price war in China, its biggest market.
The company's sales in Germany dipped 2.2%, while those in China dropped 10% in what it described as a "fierce price war".
Still, battery-electric sales performed better in China, increasing 8% compared with a 3.4% drop globally.
Volkswagen had revised down its 2024 sales forecast to around nine million in September because of challenges at its namesake brand, which launched a cost-cutting drive to boost profits amid rising competition and shrinking demand.
Sales data from Germany's top-end carmakers, including Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Porsche, showed they took a battering at home and in China in 2024, as wealthier consumers held back on purchases in uncertain economies and on slower than expected electric vehicle sales.
The Skoda and SEAT/CUPRA brands outperformed Volkswagen Passenger Cars, with sales growth of around 7% compared with a 1.4% drop at the namesake brand.
Volkswagen is releasing another 30 models this year across the group and said its order intake was up in western Europe by around 88% year-on-year, driven by new models like the VW ID.7 Tourer, Audi Q6 e-tron and Porsche Macan Electric.
(Reporting by Victoria Waldersee. Editing by Matthias Williams and Mark Potter)
