Volkswagen Group with mixed start to FY 2025; strong product momentum and focus on cost discipline
“As expected, the Volkswagen Group experienced a mixed start to the fiscal year. Our cars are very well received. Order intake in Western Europe increased significantly and our order books are filling up fast. In addition, every fifth car sold in Western Europe is now fully electric with unit sales in Q1 more than doubling. At the same time, this market success of our electric cars puts pressure on our result. An operating margin of around four percent clearly shows that there is still a considerable amount of work ahead of us. Given the current volatile global economic situation, it is even more important to focus on the levers within our control. This means complementing our great product range with a competitive cost base – so we can ensure to succeed also in rapidly changing global markets.”
Outlook for 2025
The Volkswagen Group expects the sales revenue to exceed the previous year’s figure by up to 5 percent. The operating return on sales for the Group is expected to be between 5.5 and 6.5 percent. This does not include any impact from tariffs recently announced.
In the Automotive Division, the Group expects an investment ratio between 12.0 and 13.0 percent in 2025. The automotive net cash flow for 2025 is expected to be between EUR 2.0 and EUR 5.0 billion. This includes cash outflows for investments for the future as well as for restructuring measures from 2024. Net liquidity in the Automotive Division in 2025 is expected to be between EUR 34 and EUR 37 billion.
Based on the developments in the period up to April 28, 2025, the Volkswagen Group expects the operating return on sales, automotive net cash flow and net liquidity to trend towards the lower end of the respective ranges.
Challenges will arise in particular from an environment characterized by political uncertainty, increasing trade restrictions and geopolitical tensions, the increasing intensity of competition, volatile commodity, energy and foreign exchange markets, and more stringent emissions-related requirements.
Note: Adjustments to the reporting logic from January 2025 will lead, among other things, to a more precise disclosure of the Automotive Division's sales revenue. In mathematical terms, this will lead to a lower investment ratio, namely by 130 basis points to 13.0 percent in the 2024 financial year. Based on the adjusted reporting logic, we expect the investment ratio in the Automotive Division to reduce to between 12 and 13 percent in 2025 and to around 10 percent in 2027. For details, see page 180 of the 2024 Annual Report.
