Volkswagen Group boss Oliver Blume has set out a bold plan for the car giant to become the ‘leading global automotive tech driver’, claiming that “strategic decisions” taken during a difficult 2024 can help the car giant “unleash the power” in the future.
Citing the overlapping pressures caused by the shift to electrification, new entrants to the car market and rising geopolitical tensions threatening trade wars, Blume said that the next five years would be “decisive” in determining which companies would survive and thrive moving forward.
He added that the Volkswagen Group can thrive thanks to a focus for the next 10 years on new technology including software-defined vehicles, its vast scale and a more regionalised approach.
The Volkswagen Group sold nine million vehicles across its various brands, including Volkswagen, Audi, Bentley, Cupra, Porsche and Skoda, in 2024. That was a 3% drop on 2023, largely due to a 10% fall in sales in the vital Chinese market.
Overall, the group posted slightly increased revenues of €324.7 billion (£273.9bn), compared with €322.3bn (£271.9bn) in 2023, but higher costs meant that post-tax earnings fell 30.6% to €12.3bn (£10.3bn).
Blume cited efforts by the group to bring “itself into shape” in the past two years, including a restructuring plan announced last year that will result in Volkswagen cutting 35,000 jobs in Germany as part of a major restructure of its production facilities.
But Blume, who also heads Porsche, said the firm has now set a “decisive strategic course” that would enable it to make “trailblazing strategic decisions” this year and then to “take off” from next year. The group will launch a total of 30 new models during the course of 2025.
Adaptability key
The group will build on three “fundamental principles” in the future: resilience, a willingness to adapt and financial robustness. Blume said: “We use our global side, but at the same time time we understand the specific needs of regional markets.” Blume added that the Volkswagen Group’s heritage of “strong brands, iconic design and superior technology” would remain key in the future – but suggested they would be joined as a key factor to woo buyers by “powerful digital functions”.
He also cited the group’s vast scale as a major strength, adding that while the firm ultimately remained committed to electric cars, it would maintain flexibility and offer combustion, hybrid, plug-in hybrid and new range-extender powertrains in the future. “What Volkswagen Group was recently criticised for is now our competitive advantage: our broad, flexible product portfolio across all drive variants,” said Blume.
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