VW reports booming sales amidst sagging profits

Volkswagen Group has experienced a 40.6% drop in profits in Q1 2025 compared to the same period of 2024.

In monetary terms, the automotive giant has received €2.18 billion in profits over the first three months of the year. It has managed to boost vehicle sales by a modest 1.4%, to 2.13 million units.

Apparently, EVs were the main culprit behind the plunge, but not in a way you’d expect. The steep decline of Tesla sales worldwide actually caused Volkswagen electric car shipments to skyrocket – by as much as 113% in Europe and 51% in the United States.

However, according to VW Group CFO Arno Antlitz, the company’s EVs generate far less margin per sale compared to traditional ICE cars. As such, this sudden boom in EV popularity hurt its performance more than it helped. It remains to be seen what the long-term effects will be.