Volkswagen sales on the up in 2018

In the first three quarters of the current fiscal year 2018, the Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand continued to develop well in a challenging market environment.

Following the first nine months of the year, the deliveries and sales revenue of the Volkswagen Group’s lead brand remain above the prior-year level. With 4.6 million vehicles handed over to customers (+2.9 per cent), these were the most successful first nine months that the brand has ever experienced.

Driven by higher sales and an improved product mix, the Volkswagen brand was able to boost sales revenue by 7.3 percent to €62.5 billion.

At €2.3 billion, the operating profit before special items was slightly below the prior-year level (€2.5 billion) as a result of factors including the expected impact of the WLTP changeover and higher distribution expenses in connection with the environmental incentive.

Operating return on sales was 3.7 per cent, compared with the figure of 4.3 percent for the prior-year period. The diesel issue gave rise to special items of €-1.6 billion (2017: €-2.6 billion).