The Volkswagen Group reported continued weakness in its international sales, particularly in key markets such as China and the United States, as disclosed in Wolfsburg on Monday. Between January and March, the Group’s total vehicle deliveries across all brands dropped to 2.05 million units, marking a 4% decrease compared to the same period last year. Despite this downturn, the company has managed to largely sustain its global market share amid a contracting overall automotive market.
“The global automotive market experienced a decline by the end of March,” stated Audi’s Sales Director Marco Schubert, who oversees sales for the entire Group. “Nevertheless, Volkswagen has maintained its global market position.” The ongoing conflict in the Middle East has not significantly affected the Group’s total deliveries so far.
In China, Volkswagen is grappling with a shrinking market and intensifying local competition, resulting in a delivery count of 548,700 vehicles for the quarter, down nearly 15% year-on-year. Meanwhile, in North America, European automakers are facing challenges due to new tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump, causing deliveries to plunge over 13% to 205,500 vehicles, with the United States itself seeing a steep 20.5% drop.
In a notable development, Volkswagen briefly reclaimed the top spot in the Chinese market during the first quarter, primarily driven by changes in electric vehicle subsidies that adversely impacted domestic electric brands. The VW brand, including the Jetta, slightly increased its market share thanks to its robust combustion engine sales. However, the Wolfsburg-based firm does not anticipate holding this lead through the end of the year. Last year, Volkswagen had fallen to third place in China’s new vehicle registrations, trailing behind electric vehicle manufacturer BYD and Geely, the parent of Volvo. Prior to this, VW had dominated the Chinese market for decades. The Group has recently emphasized its commitment to maintaining at least third place in China.
Conversely, Volkswagen experienced growth in Germany and across Europe. Deliveries in Western Europe reached nearly 850,000 vehicles, a 4.2% increase from the previous year, while Eastern Europe saw a 7.6% rise to 135,000 vehicles. Germany itself recorded a 4.8% growth in deliveries. South America also contributed positively with a 7% increase, totaling 148,000 vehicles. However, these regional gains were insufficient to compensate for the losses in China and North America.
Electric vehicle sales, which had previously shown steady growth, declined significantly by 7.7% globally to 200,000 units, a sharper drop than that of combustion-engine vehicles. In China, electric vehicle sales plummeted nearly 64% due to subsidy policy changes. The United States witnessed an even more dramatic 80% fall after President Trump eliminated electric vehicle subsidies altogether.
In response, Volkswagen announced on Friday that it would halt production of the ID.4 electric vehicle in the US, shifting focus to manufacturing more combustion-engine SUVs like the Atlas. Meanwhile, in Europe, electric vehicle deliveries continued to rise by 11.5%, reaching 176,400 units. Order intake in Europe also improved, increasing by 3% across all powertrain types and by 4% specifically for pure electric vehicles. Demand for plug-in hybrids is rebounding as well, with global deliveries up 31% in the first quarter compared to the previous year.
Volkswagen’s sales have been declining over the past two years. In 2023, deliveries dropped below the nine-million mark to 8.98 million units. This widening gap allowed Toyota, which increased its sales to 11.3 million vehicles, to strengthen its position as the world’s leading automaker, having overtaken Volkswagen in 2020.
