Volkswagen AG

Volkswagen said H1 2026 group sales revenue was EUR 158 billion, stable year over year. Operating profit was EUR 5.9 billion, down 12% year over year, with a 3.8% operating margin; excluding restructuring costs and the U.S. ID.4 write-off, margin was 4.3%. Profit before tax fell 26% to EUR 4.8 billion and profit after tax decreased to EUR 3.1 billion. Automotive net cash flow was EUR 3.2 billion, up EUR 4.5 billion year over year, and automotive net liquidity was EUR 32.7 billion. For full-year 2026, Volkswagen still expects sales revenue to be down 3% to flat versus the prior year, operating return on sales of 4% to 5.5%, automotive net cash flow of EUR 3 billion to EUR 6 billion, and net liquidity of EUR 32 billion to EUR 34 billion.

Oliver Blume said the first half confirmed that underlying demand is better than the headline delivery number, especially in Europe and for the new SUV and EV portfolio. He framed the new 2030 plan as the next phase of transformation, not just a cost-cutting exercise, and said the group needs to become simpler, more resilient and more competitive in a structurally harder industry. He was upbeat about early customer response to new models in Europe and China, and said the company is acting early rather than waiting for conditions to deteriorate further.

Arno Antlitz emphasized that H1 results were still below a sustainable level, with 3.8% operating margin and about 4.3% before special effects. He highlighted EUR 0.9 billion of special effects, EUR 3.2 billion of automotive net cash flow, EUR 3.7 billion of clean net cash flow excluding M&A, and EUR 32.7 billion of net industrial liquidity. He also pointed to EUR 1.5 billion lower automotive CapEx and R&D at EUR 14.8 billion, and said the company aims to cut global overhead costs by around EUR 11 billion, lower the automotive overhead ratio to around 12% by 2030 from roughly 16% today, and reduce investment intensity to around 9%.

Analysts pressed management on whether plant closures are needed, how fast the new 2030 program can be implemented, and whether restructuring costs and disposals could affect dividends or liquidity. Blume said plant closures are not realistic through the end of the decade as the first option, though they remain a last resort, and said the company will first focus on competitiveness, possible alternative industrial uses for sites, and continued capacity optimization. On China, management said the group sees a strategic opportunity to use its China base as an export platform into the global South and potentially Europe, but that the timing is step-by-step and depends on product ramp-ups and local execution.