Sales revenue remained broadly stable at €158.1 billion for the six months to June 30, 2026, compared with €158.4 billion in the same period last year. However, vehicle sales fell 8.4% year-on-year to 4.0 million units from 4.36 million. Growth in South America (+5.2%), Western Europe (+1.3%) and Central and Eastern Europe (+9.6%) was outweighed by a 31.6% decline in China, while North America recorded a slight increase of 0.9%.
The group’s operating result declined 11.6% to €5.9 billion, resulting in an operating margin of 3.8%, down from 4.2% a year earlier. Volkswagen attributed the decline primarily to around €0.5 billion in costs related to the discontinuation of North American production of the ID.4, as well as unfavourable product mix effects. Lower restructuring costs, favourable exchange rates and reduced fixed costs only partially offset these pressures. Before special items, the operating result stood at €6.9 billion, with an adjusted operating margin of 4.3%.
Despite the weaker earnings, the Automotive Division generated net cash flow of €3.2 billion during the first half, compared with an outflow of €1.4 billion in the same period of 2025. The improvement was driven by stronger operating cash flow, lower tax payments, reduced working capital outflows and lower investment spending.
Among the group’s brand divisions, the Core brand group improved its operating result by 4.5% to €3.6 billion, with an operating margin of 4.9%, supported by tighter cost management and product cost optimisation. The Progressive brand group also posted a slight improvement, increasing its operating result to €1.1 billion and its margin to 3.8%. Porsche, within the Sport Luxury segment, reported an operating result of €1.2 billion, up from €0.8 billion a year earlier, despite lower revenue and vehicle sales following its strategic realignment.
Looking ahead, Volkswagen has lowered its full-year sales revenue forecast and now expects revenue to decline by between 3% and remain flat compared with 2025, having previously forecast growth of up to 3%. The company maintained its expectation for an operating return on sales of between 4.0% and 5.5%. It said the outlook assumes the current international tariff situation remains unchanged but warned that macroeconomic uncertainty, geopolitical tensions, trade restrictions, increasing competition and emissions-related regulations continue to pose significant risks.
