When Volkswagen produces more sausages than vehicles

In a world where cars bear horse names and sports cars all look like clones of langoustines, Volkswagen proves that anything can be just as <>important as four wheels. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, you heard it right, the largest car manufacturer in Europe has recently broken an unconventional record: that of selling sausages. Yes, food products, and no, this is not a new marketing campaign to persuade meat lovers to change cars.

When sausage surpasses vehicles: a tasty anecdote

Imagine the scene: in a factory in Wolfsburg where the smell of rubber and fresh metal should have prevailed, it seems that the aromatic scents of currywurst have taken over. In 2024, Volkswagen achieved the incredible feat of selling 8.5 million of its famous curry sausages, while the brand's cars struggled to reach only 5.2 million units sold. One has to wonder if they should replace the engineers with butchers at this point, right?

An automotive industry in sausage

This hilarious situation highlights the difficulties faced by the German giant in the automotive industry. While the demand for vehicles is collapsing, especially in China, who would have thought that the answer to the crisis would be as simple as a bite of sausage? With net profit in free fall nearly one-third lower than last year, one could almost hear the slogan: "The future of Volkswagen is sausage."

Sausages apparently must be the new strategy to keep the company alive, while also providing a digestive break for its employees, who must already face the prospect of 35,000 job cuts. Here’s an energy bar that makes one reflect on the very meaning of food in our modern society! A stroke of genius, or rather a stroke of sausage, if we’re to believe the board that hastened to proclaim the success of the currywurst.

Sausages: let’s spark innovation!

Oh, and don’t worry, Volkswagen's hierarchy isn’t sitting idle. No, innovation is being explored like a Michelin-starred chef in the kitchen. Vegetarian, vegan, and halal varieties of the sausage are already in the works. A little scanner for the Volkswagen of tomorrow? Let’s hope the taste doesn’t fly away with the profits!

As the crowd at the Wolfsburg stage warms up with a beer in hand to taste the company's flagship product – the sausage and not the vehicle – the absurd creeps into the discussion table. Perhaps it's not just the market that is suffering, but also our conception of consumption? The decline of hyper automotive consumption is being offset by gustatory frenzy. Who could have predicted such a trend? Moreover, even political figures like Gerhard Schröder have taken a stance on the issue, stating that currywurst is the "energy bar of the worker" – there’s some truth in that, isn't there?

A future that rolls?

With a US market that seems to be stabilizing, even under the burden of heavy customs duties, Volkswagen should keep a close eye on its food production rather than on vehicle production. The trend is glaring: in a world moving towards sustainability, isn't it wiser to diversify business? And what if the answer to all these dilemmas lay in a small juicy snack?

Source: www.challenges.fr

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