Third-quarter deliveries almost on a level with previous year; year-to-date decline of 18.6 percent
Sales revenue of EUR 47.2 billion in the first nine months; rate of year-on-year decline has narrowed to –27.9 percent after three quarters
Return to profitable territory in third quarter, nine-month operating result before special items of EUR –1.0 billion
Measures to counter the Covid-19 pandemic showing results; model initiative provides added momentum
After the pandemic-related slump in the first half of the year, business performance at the Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand recovered noticeably in the period from July to September. With 1.5 million vehicles delivered worldwide, the core brand of the Volkswagen Group delivered almost as many vehicles to customers in the third quarter of 2020 as in the prior-year period (–2.7 percent). In the period from January to September, however, deliveries still decreased by 18.6 percent. The gradual recovery is also reflected in the brand’s financial key performance indicators: Sales revenue amounted to EUR 47.2 billion after nine months, down 27.9 percent on the previous year. After the first six months of the year, a 35.3 percent drop had been recorded. With an operating result before special items of EUR 522 million, the brand was back in positive territory in the third quarter. The nine-month operating result before special items improved accordingly to EUR –1.0 billion (first six months: EUR –1.5 billion).
Alexander Seitz, CFO of the Volkswagen brand: “Despite the ongoing challenges from the Covid-19 pandemic, the brand returned to profitability in the third quarter. This is above all due to the systematic measures taken to cut costs and secure liquidity and the dedicated efforts of our employees, who gave their all to catch up on the backlog following the temporary shutdown in spring. Thanks to our strong product substance, we are gaining market share in many regions. In the final quarter, we are doing everything in our power to get the brand’s full-year operating result into positive territory.”
Gradual recovery of business continues
The gradual recovery in delivery figures after the significant falls at the beginning of the year continued in the course of the third quarter. While the Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand recorded single-digit percentage declines in July and August compared with the prior-year months, in
