Brand Group Core holds its own in a difficult environment – special items significantly impact overall result

Volkswagen Passenger Cars unit sales totaled 2.24 million vehicles in the first nine months of 2026 (excluding China, including external manufacturing), a decrease of 1.7 % compared with the same period last year. While demand for electric vehicles in Germany was high, availability remained limited, at the same time as volumes for high-revenue ICE models fell.
Overall, the Volkswagen brand’s delivery performance on international markets and in the regions was weak. At 61.95 billion euros, sales revenue was 2.9% lower than the level of the previous year. The operating result came in at 813 million euros (previous year: 1,476 million euros).
This was primarily due to higher expenditure on sales incentives, negative mix effects, and high special items, especially in respect of expenditure in connection with restructuring measures, the sale of Volkswagen Osnabrück GmbH, and discontinuation of ID.4 production in Chattanooga. Excluding the above-mentioned special items, the Volkswagen brand’s cumulative operating margin after Q3 would have been 2.6%.

“Our electric vehicles are attractive, and we are seeing a significant upturn in demand. At the same time, they do not yet achieve the margins of our combustion engine models – this means the rising share of BEVs is currently increasing cost pressure. We are therefore systematically working on product costs, economies of scale, and a competitive cost base to achieve the necessary profitability for our electric models as well.”
David Powels, CFO Volkswagen Brand & Brand Group Core

At 465 million euro (previous year: 220 million euros), Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles more than doubled its operating result in the first nine months of 2026, the operating margin improved to 3.8 %
(previous year: 1.8 %). Key to this was the brand’s disciplined approach to costs. At 320,444 vehicles, unit sales remained largely stable (previous year: 323,900 units), there was a moderate decrease of 2.0% in sales revenue to 12.3 billion euros. In contrast, deliveries to customers increased by 3.2% to 286,100 vehicles, with growth in all-electric models as high as 23.4 %.Developments in the third quarter were particularly strong: this was the strongest quarter of the year, with an operating result of 190 million euros (previous year: 13 million euros), and an increase in unit sales (+4.8 %) and sales revenue (+53 %) compared with the same prior-year quarter.

“Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles has more than doubled its operating result, despite nearly stable sales. This demonstrates what consistent cost management can achieve when sustained.
With this development, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles is making a noticeable contribution to the success of the entire brand group.
At the same time, the new Transporter strengthens the B2B business with its wide range of powertrains and variants. Furthermore, the growing demand for all-electric transporters and vans confirms the importance of the electric portfolio.”
Stefan Mecha, CEO Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles

SEAT & CUPRA recorded an operating result of 6 million euros in the period from January to September 2026 (previous year: 16 million euros). Following the positive effects of the ELEVATE strategy and the performance program, particularly in the first half of the year, the economic environment became significantly more challenging in the third quarter. The accelerating pace of electrification in key European markets, growing competitive pressure, and geopolitical volatility impacted the company's performance.
While the current market transformation confirms the electrification strategy of SEAT & CUPRA, it also underscores the need to further improve margins on all-electric vehicles. In response to these challenges, the company is tightening cost-control measures and rigorously driving forward its ELEVATE strategy, which is based on Martorell's growing role as an industrial powerhouse and the continuous growth of CUPRA.

"Our low profitability and low cash generation pose a serious threat to our capability to sufficiently invest in our future.
The accelerating pace of electrification underscores the pressing need to swiftly improve the cost structure of our battery-electric vehicles.
We will critically reprioritize all projected future investments and maintain rigorous cost discipline."
Patrik Andreas Mayer, member of the SEAT & CUPRA brand Board of Management responsible for Finance & IT

Škoda Auto continued its growth path in the first nine months of 2026. Global unit sales rose by 3.4%
to 899,055 vehicles, and sales revenue grew by 3.5% to 23.1 billion euros. All-electric models were
particularly in demand, with deliveries surging by 41.3%, and the Škoda Elroq standing out as the best-selling electric vehicle for the Volkswagen Group.
The operating result increased by 7.4% to 1.92 billion euros. With an operating margin of 8.3% (previous year: 8.0%), Škoda Auto underscored its position as a top-performing brand in terms of profitability.
In the third quarter, the brand also increased its operating result by 10.3% to 557 million euros.

“Škoda Auto continues to grow profitably in a highly competitive environment, based on a customer-oriented business model and achieving strong results within the Brand Group Core.
In the first nine months, we increased deliveries by 6.1%, thus defending our position as Europe's second best-selling car brand. The operating result rose by 7.4%, and the operating margin reached 8.3%. We on the Board of Management are proud of our Škoda team and thank our supplier and dealer partners, as well as the Kovo union.
We are honored by the trust our customers place in the brand. This provides an important foundation for tackling the mounting challenges in the coming year, including even higher competitive and margin pressure as a result of our successful electrification initiative.”
Holger Peters, Interim CEO Škoda Auto, Member of the Board of Management responsible for Finance, IT and Legal Affairs