Volkswagen Group, Germany’s biggest vehicle manufacturer, lost €1.07 billion between July and September, according to an earnings release.
The loss, revealed today, came despite turnover growing more than expected by 2.3 per cent to more than €80 billion.
The group – which includes brands such as VW, Porsche, Skoda, and Seat – primarily suffered from ongoing problems at luxury carmaker Porsche.
The Volkswagen affiliate had announced in September it was changing its medium-term strategy by cutting back on electrical vehicle (EV) development and instead sticking to internal combustion engines (ICE) for longer.
Porsche said the extraordinary expenditures associated with this change in strategy would amount to more than €3 billion.
Another item weighing on Volkswagen’s profit and loss statement are the US tariffs introduced under President Donald Trump, including the 15 per cent tariff on imports from the European Union effective from August 1.
Volkswagen sold 730,000 cars in the US in 2024. Of these, 200,000 were produced domestically while 240,000 vehicles came from European factories, primarily Porsche and Audi cars, and another 287,000 from sites in Mexico. The company is now facing a 27.5 per cent tariff on vehicles and car parts in that country.
Volkswagen CFO Arno Antlitz said the company was expecting the tariffs to remain in place permanently, making it necessary to cut back on costs. “Including the tariffs – but excluding one-off effects – we had operating profits of €10.9 billion in the first nine months of 2025 and a profit margin of 4.5 per cent.
“That is too little to invest enough into the future,” he said.
Antlitz added that the VW group would try to increase cross-brand economies of scale, for example producing its EV VW ID.Polo in the same Spanish factory as a similar model by brand Cupra.
Antlitz also indicated that staff cuts may be on the agenda. “For the current year, cash flow is zero. This means that despite all our efforts in the current year with all our exciting products, there is effectively nothing left in the coffers.
“I believe it is clear to all employees that we cannot continue like this,” he said.
German media had previously reported that Volkswagen may face a financing shortfall of €14 billion in its current budget.
The group’s sobering numbers echo wider problems for German carmakers.
Yesterday, competitor Mercedes Benz announced a 30 per cent profit reduction for the third quarter, also citing tariffs as a main negative factor. The company is now trying to cut tens of thousands of non-production employees.
The third major German carmaker, BMW, will publish its numbers for the third quarter on November 5.
