Volkswagen benefits from bumper recovery in car sales

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Volkswagen continues to benefit from the recovery in car sales, and expects to make an operating profit of about 11 billion euros during the first six months of the year.

The preliminary figure exceeds the 10.6 billion euros manufactured by the manufacturer in 2020 and the 9.6 billion euros in the first half of 2019.

In a brief statement, VW, the world’s second-largest vehicle manufacturer by volume, also reported a net cash flow of about 10 billion euros over the six months to the end of June.

But the Wolfsburg-based company, which also owns brands such as Audi, Porsche and Seat, warned that the “bottleneck of semiconductors has changed and will … impact us.” [the second half of the year]”.

This week, the German vehicle lobby, VDA, said it was waiting 400,000 fewer cars are produced in the country in 2021, largely due to the shortage of chips. Volkswagen has said it expects its own deficit to be a “six-digit number.”

In response to the global shortage of crucial components, VW said it had prioritized the production of high-margin premium models, which helped cushion the financial blow.

An increase in demand for used vehicles also increased the profits of the company’s financial services sector, he added, offering loans to customers.

“One quarter after another, these guys are really doing a great job,” said Arndt Ellinghorst, a Bernstein analyst.

“It’s very refreshing to see such a huge number from a traditional manufacturer,” he added. “It certainly earns more than some of Spac’s cash these days.”

VW’s figures come despite the slowdown in the recovery in vehicle sales in China, its largest market. The group has also recorded disappointing sales in the country of its dedicated electric vehicles, the identifier. 3 and identification. 4, as domestic brands eat more than the local market share.

But the company benefited from a higher proportion of deliveries in Europe, where margins are higher than other regions, and strong sales in the US.

Last month, VW revealed that deliveries between January and May had increased 33% worldwide, compared to the previous year. Truck brands Man and Scania recorded the strongest growth, with sales up 68% and 61% respectively.

Shares of VW were up more than 3 percent from the last forecast. The company is due to publish a full financial report in the first half of the year on July 29th.

On Friday separately, Volkswagen’s supervisory board voted to extend the contract of CEO Herbert Diess to its 67th anniversary, in October 2025.

Diess, a former BMW executive who joined the group in 2015, has thought of a € 35 billion raid by the company on electric vehicles. It survived two clashes with powerful unions, which opposed its aggressive cost-cutting measures last year.

Last month, a report commissioned by VW confirmed that Diess was in the room in 2015 when its predecessor was informed of the existence of “Dieselgate Software ”that could fool emission testing, but the report concluded that, having just joined BMW, Diess was “justified in trusting that the competent Volkswagen bodies and employees would do so… communicate with the authorities and customers of the States.” United according to their functions ”.

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