2024 Author: Eric Donovan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 21:13
VW Commercial Vehicles suffered a significant decline in profits last year. One reason was high investments such as the new Caddy.
In the case of light commercial vehicles in the VW Group (VWN), operations that have been dormant due to the coronavirus pandemic are to be resumed as soon as possible. They are working «at full speed to quickly restart production and deliveries to our customers as soon as external circumstances allow it again,» said CEO Thomas Sedran on Thursday in Hanover.
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As with the other Volkswagen brands, the plants were initially closed for two weeks to reduce the risk of infection with the virus in the workforce. In addition, the automakers have problems with cut supply chains and the collapsed demand.
Sedran: It's not a normal year
“It's not a normal year, it's not a normal time,” said Sedran. As with the Group's main brand VW Pkw, short-time work was applied for for a considerable part of the employees. "Some colleagues are still in the works to maintain machines and to prepare production for a later restart." It is currently still unclear whether and when it can continue soon. Group works council chief Bernd Osterloh does not rule out that it might not be so far until May.
Last year, VWN posted a decline in profit from ongoing business from 780 to 510 million euros. One reason for this was the high cost of models like the new Caddy. The group subsidiary invested a total of 1.8 billion euros. The main plant in Hanover - like Zwickau or Emden - is gradually being converted into a factory for the production of all-electric vehicles. VWN is also preparing the electric version of the VW bus (ID. Buzz).
Yield decreased
The return - the share of operating profit in sales - decreased from 6.6 to 4.4 percent in 2019. Sedran said that this was still “respectable” in view of other factors such as the switch to the new WLTP emissions test standard. The numbers ultimately achieved are on schedule. Sales fell slightly in 2019 from 11.9 to 11.5 billion euros.
The business of the commercial vehicle subsidiary could also be hard hit by the Corona crisis. The looming recession due to the economic consequences of the pandemic is likely to have an impact on companies' demand for transport vehicles.
Pick-up Amarok is coming in 2020
An important project this year at VWN is the next edition of the Amarok pick-up. The manufacturer is working with the US car maker Ford, as is the use of its own electrical kit for possible other models.
In the VW Group, the focus for autonomous driving is on the Hanoverians.
The planned participation in the Ford subsidiary Argo AI is to be implemented in the first half of the year. The US company specializes in artificial intelligence and robotics. (dpa)
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