Volkswagen deliveries drop in Q2, China sales fall 19.3%

German carmaker Volkswagen delivered fewer cars in the second quarter than a year ago, it reported on Wednesday.

The Volkswagen Group delivered 2,243,700 vehicles of all group brands worldwide between April and June, 3.8% fewer than in the same months last year.

Audi and the Chinese market in particular had a negative impact.

Sales at Audi slumped by 11.3%. The core brand Volkswagen lost 5.2%. Skoda and Seat/Cupra, on the other hand, grew.

Business is weakening in China. In the past three months, 19.3% fewer vehicles were delivered there.

"As announced, we have deliberately prioritized sustainable value creation over higher volumes in the very intense competitive environment in China in order to achieve our long-term strategic goals," said Audi Sales Director Hildegard Wortmann.

By contrast, sales in Western Europe rose by 5.1% and in North America by 10.8%. However, this could not compensate for the slump in China.

Wortmann is nevertheless optimistic for the rest of the year. "For 2024 as a whole, we continue to expect a slight increase in global deliveries compared to the previous year due to the start-up and ramp-up of numerous important models in the second half of the year."