This time the alarm comes directly from within Volkswagen: an anonymous survey among the members of the board of directors and the supervisory board, published by the German magazine Magazine Managerillustrates the climate of serious concern at the top of Europe’s leading car manufacturer.
Six of the nine managers interviewed believe that the company is even at risk of survival. The other three define the situation as “tense”.
Volkswagen’s challenges
Volkswagen is facing the classic perfect storm: slowing sales, pressure from Chinese competition, US tariffs and a difficult transition to electric mobility.
And on the stock market, Volkswagen shares are close to their lowest levels for five years now.
The survey among Volkswagen top management
The internal survey was carried out to measure the level of management cohesion, but the results returned a decidedly different picture. As reported by Magazine Managerthe shared belief is that Volkswagen is going through one of the most difficult phases in its recent history.
In terms of possible solutions, a unanimous finding emerges: all nine members involved in the survey ask for a change in the company strategy. The criticisms mainly concern the policies adopted in the two markets considered decisive for the future of the group, China and North America.
How Volkswagen is doing today
The numbers for the first quarter of 2026 confirm and reinforce the concerns. Operating profit fell by 14.3%, stopping at around 2.5 billion euros, while the operating margin went from 3.7% to 3.3%. Revenues also recorded a decline of 2.5%, reaching 75.7 billion euros, below analysts’ expectations. The decline in net profit was even more marked, decreasing by 28.4% to approximately 1.56 billion euros.
Above all, sales in non-European markets are having an impact. Overall deliveries fell to about 2 million vehicles, down 20 percent in China and 9 percent in North America. The increases recorded in Western Europe, Central and Eastern Europe and South America were not enough to compensate for the slowdown in the two most important markets.
As mentioned, the accounts are also affected by US duties which the group estimates could have an impact of around 4 billion euros per year.
To contain the effects of the crisis, Volkswagen has already started an extensive cost reduction program. The measures adopted have made it possible to obtain savings close to one billion euros and to bring the net cash flow of the Automotive division back into positive territory. And in the meantime, the workforce reduction plan continues, which envisages around 50,000 fewer jobs in Germany by 2030, while in China production capacity has already been reduced by around 1.5 million vehicles compared to 2023 levels.
Volkswagen Group, not all brands in difficulty
It must be specified that within the Group not all divisions are suffering: the Core Brand Group, which includes Volkswagen, Skoda, Seat and Cupra, improved operating profit by 38%, reaching 1.5 billion euros, with a margin that rose to 4.4%. Porsche could fare better, however, as it saw its operating profit decrease from 700 to 500 million euros and its margin drop from 8.7% to 7%.
Despite the situation, Volkswagen confirmed its forecasts for the full year 2026. The Group continues to expect revenues between stability and growth of up to 3%, with an operating margin between 4% and 5.5%.
