Volkswagen's third-quarter loss reaches 5.82 billion euros

German carmaker Volkswagen (VW) lost 5.82 billion euros in the third quarter of 2026, covering July to September. In the same period last year the loss was 1.07 billion euros, so this year's figure is more than five times larger. The results were published on Thursday in the group's report for January to September.

Revenue and profit fall sharply

The group's revenue for the quarter fell by 6.3% to 75.3 billion euros. Operating profit before interest and taxes dropped from 5.4 billion to 0.1 billion euros. Vehicle sales declined from 2.2 million to 1.89 million cars.

What affected the results

Volkswagen cited large one-off costs, weak demand in China, stronger price competition on the global market and US import tariffs. A growing share of electric vehicles in sales also weighed on results, as they remain less profitable than cars with internal combustion engines.

The most significant factor was a writedown of about 6.4 billion euros after a revaluation of Porsche's assets. The group also wrote off roughly 1 billion euros linked to its Chinese operations. In total, one-off costs in the third quarter reached 7.8 billion euros.

Restructuring and outlook

VW's management expects a restructuring programme to save about 31 billion euros. In early September the group's supervisory board approved cutting another 50,000 jobs worldwide, in addition to an earlier announced plan to eliminate a similar number of positions. The future of four of the group's plants in Germany between 2031 and 2034 also remains in question.

Given the weaker figures, Volkswagen could end 2026 with a loss for the first time since the diesel scandal of 2015.