Volkswagen shows a good start for the first quarter of 2025

Imagine a gigantic industrial orgy where everyone expected to see Volkswagen collapse like a poorly built house of cards. Result? Surprise! Our good old Germans have decided to make some noise with a first quarter of 2025 that not only plays coy but has really put the pedal to the metal. After a 2024 year worthy of a bad episode of “Who Wants to Lose Millions” with a global sales drop of 2.3%, the brand with the V and W logo shows that it still knows how to dance the tango with the competition. We leave you to judge this little turnaround that could well annoy quite a few, from Peugeot to Renault, not to mention the looming shadow of Tesla they seem to be poking.

Volkswagen: a surprising electric restart in the first quarter of 2025

We must admit, the show is delightful. The numbers are there and they do not lie: Volkswagen sold 2.13 million vehicles between January and March, representing a modest but oh so significant increase of 1.4% in a market that continues to tumble. In short, with the “bad news” factor sufficiently bombarded by Stellantis and its dramatic decline in Europe, the Germans have decided to push back.

What is truly impressive is the explosive growth of electric vehicles in Western Europe. More than doubled with a surge of 113%, these deliveries reach a respectable total of 158,100 units. Even the United States, a key point where many manufacturers scream under the burden of taxes and restrictions, sees the group's EVs climb by 51% to nearly 19,900 units. In short, the share of 100% electric vehicles now represents 19% of sales in Western Europe and 10% globally. Not bad for a German car purring with electricity in a landscape where some giants like Tesla are starting to look in their rearview mirrors with a grimace.

Local results not all rosy, take-off in the West and struggling exports in China

China, this colossal market, is the big black spot on the scoreboard with a drop in deliveries of 7.1%, falling to 644,100 units. There, the melee resembles a Roman arena, a bit too intense for Volkswagen, which admits to facing “fierce intensity” from competitors in this area. To add insult to injury, the performance of electric vehicles there is catastrophic with a drop of 37%, reaching only 25,900 units. Nothing like the electric wave in the West, then.

Beyond China, other regions show more vigor, with an overall increase in deliveries across all categories: +3.7% in Europe, +4.4% in North America, where the percentages posted in the United States peak at 6.2%, and even +16.6% in South America. This leaves the sales manager, Marco Schubert, claiming with some pride that these performances easily make up for the Asian fiasco.

When commercial performance flirts with financial woes

But beware, this idyllic picture is not entirely blemish-free. Despite a revenue increase of 3% to 78 billion euros, Volkswagen's operating profit took a significant hit, dropping by 39% to just 2.8 billion. The fault lies with a few thorns in the foot that no one wanted to discuss at the coffee machine:

• A provision of 600 million euros for European emission targets, because yes, saving the planet can be quite expensive.
• Another several million twisted for the restructuring of a software unit best left forgotten — yes, VW also struggles with its software, it's not just Apple.
• Another little bombshell of 300 million euros thanks to Dieselgate, a reminder that the memory of scandals lingers.
• And to top it all, the American tariffs that weigh heavily on the festivities – a whirlwind of depreciations and other issues that make people grind their teeth.

As a result, analysts expected an operating profit of around 4 billion, but shhh… Volkswagen didn't feel like celebrating. However, they keep their heads high and maintain their annual forecast. That said, they remain cautious, as they have yet to factor in the impending increase in American import duties into their calculations — enough to fuel some Kafkaesque suspense.

ID.4 in the lead, a cast of electric stars for Volkswagen in the first quarter

In the electric menagerie, the ID family is mostly responsible for stirring things up. The ID.4 and its cousin ID.5 are cutting out the lion's share with 43,700 units sold. Not bad, right? Following closely are the ID.3 with 28,100 units and the Audi Q4 e-tron with 22,800 units.

The Skoda Enyaq, Volkswagen ID.7, and Audi Q6 e-tron models (let's say the family is in the party) also hold significant weight with respective scores of 20,200, 19,100, and 16,000 units. The Porsche Macan (not really electric but holding its own with 14,200 units) and the younger Cupra Born and Tavascan round out the tail end, respectively with 11,000 and 7,600 units.

Volkswagen is not only shaking up the European market, the brand also seems to be playing hardball with heavyweights like BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and French Renault in territories where competition is fierce, while elsewhere Peugeot, Citroën, Ford, Toyota, and even Fiat are watching with a mix of disgust and polite admiration.

To learn a bit more about the industrial strategies of Toyota and Volkswagen in facing these global challenges, a detour to their industrial rapprochement in the United States will provide interesting insights. And for a sharp analysis of Volkswagen's unexpected resilience in a declining market, consider taking a look at the German resistance against Stellantis.

Source: journalauto.com

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