According to a new report by Volkswagen group, the company has had the most disappointing sales in decades. In addition, the company needs help with the current geopolitical events, easing demand, and COVID-19 regulations in China disrupting supply chains.

Volkswagen

Volkswagen is a German car manufacturer that produces many vehicles, including compact cars, sedans, SUVs, and vans. Some of their most popular models include the Volkswagen Golf, Jetta, Beetle, and Passat. The company also produces luxury vehicles under the Audi and Bentley brands and commercial vehicles under the Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles brand.

Volkswagen Sales

The company sold over 8.2 million cars last year, which should have been more to take them to the number one spot. As a result, the Japanese brand Toyota remains at the top with over 10 million units sold in 2022; this is the third consecutive time that Toyota is outdoing the German giants.

According to the Volkswagen group, year sales had a 14% increase in the last three months of 2022. However, despite this positive result, the director in charge of sales, Hildegard Wortmann, is concerned about the company’s prospects for 2023.

The reasons for this concern are twofold: first, weak economies could potentially hurt sales, and second, there are ongoing problems with supply chain shortcomings that may disrupt the company’s ability to produce and sell its products. According to Wortmann, despite the strong recent sales, the company faces challenges that may affect future performance.

According to Volkswagen, the group saw an overall increase in vehicles sold during the last six months of 2022. However, the overall number of deliveries for the full year was lower than expected due to a significant decrease in deliveries during the year’s first half. Specifically, the statement says that the full-year figure was dragged down by over 19% in the first half.

The Volkswagen group is not alone, with German auto giants Mercedes and BMW reporting small sales declines. BMW declined by 4.8% in the first weeks of Jan, and Mercedes lost 1% in the same period. These developments come despite a small uptick in sales in the last quarter of 2022.

The Volkswagen Group, despite challenges in overall sales, was able to maintain its spot as the top maker of battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) in Europe. Furthermore, the company also saw an increase in electric vehicles (EVs) worldwide, with a 25% rise in global sales. These numbers suggest that the company had a relatively strong performance in the EV market, specifically in Europe and China.

A round of positive news for the company as it indicates that its efforts to promote electric vehicles may be paying off. The company hopes to make half its sales in 2030 electric and will start with an 11% target in 2023.