VW posts its first quarterly loss in 15 years amid emissions scandal
FRANKFURT, Germany — A remarkable period of growth ended at Volkswagen on Wednesday when the automaker reported its first quarterly loss in at least 15 years and began the costly process of absorbing the expense of fixing millions of cars designed to cheat on emissions tests.
The day also was the end of a defining era of Volkswagen ambition. Matthias Mueller, the new chief executive, signaled that the company would no longer be focused on becoming the world’s largest carmaker.
He said Wednesday that sales would not cease to be an overriding measure of success. In another shift, he also said that top executives at company headquarters in Wolfsburg, who had been criticized for micromanaging, would no longer get involved in details of product design.
Mueller’s statement represents a clear break from his predecessor, Martin Winterkorn, who resigned in late September after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency disclosed that Volkswagen diesel cars were equipped with software that could detect when a car was being tested and crank up pollution controls.
The earnings report Wednesday provided a first taste of the financial cost to Volkswagen of its past behavior. The company said it had a net loss of $1.84 billion in the third quarter as it set aside a huge sum to help cover the expected damage from the company’s emissions cheating scandal.
It was the first quarterly loss in as long as anyone can remember. That sum does not cover the cost of fines that Volkswagen is likely to have to pay to the EPA and to other authorities around the world.
“It is still far too early to calculate the cost of legal measures,” Frank Witter, the chief financial officer, said during the conference call Wednesday.
The company said it expected its profit for fullyear 2015 “to be down significantly” from 2014. Its shares are down more than 30 percent since the emissions cheating became known Sept. 18.