The Volkswagen Group has reported a decline in car deliveries for the past quarter compared to the previous year. Between April and June, the company delivered 2,243,700 vehicles worldwide across all its brands, marking a 3.8% decrease from the same period last year, as stated by the Wolfsburg-based company. The drop was particularly significant for Audi and the Chinese market.
Audi’s sales plummeted by 11.3%, while the core Volkswagen brand saw a 5.2% decline. However, Skoda and Seat/Cupra experienced growth. The business in China was notably weak, with a 19.3% decrease in deliveries over the past three months.
“As previously announced, we have consciously prioritised sustainable value creation over higher volumes in China’s highly competitive market to achieve our long-term strategic goals,” said Audi’s Head of Sales, Hildegard Wortmann, who is also responsible for sales across the entire Volkswagen Group.
In contrast, sales in Western Europe rose by 5.1%, and in North America by 10.8%. Despite these gains, they were insufficient to offset the decline in China. Wortmann remains optimistic for the remainder of the year. “For the full year 2024, we anticipate a slight increase in global deliveries compared to last year, thanks to the launch and ramp-up of numerous key models in the second half of the year.”
Electric Vehicle Sales Struggle
There was a setback in the sales of electric vehicles (EVs). In the first half of the year, the group delivered 317,200 electric models worldwide, which is 4,400 less than in the same period in 2023. This decline was primarily due to weaker demand in Europe and the USA, where deliveries of electric cars fell by 15% in each region. However, the order backlog for electric cars in Western Europe slightly increased to around 170,000.
Just the night before, the group had revised its annual forecast downwards, mainly due to Audi. The weak demand for the Q8 e-tron electric model has led the VW subsidiary to consider ending its production in Brussels prematurely. The site is set for restructuring, and if no alternatives are found, it could even face closure. In the first half of the year, 17,900 Q8 e-trons were delivered.