Volkswagen is winning the EV race in Europe and losing money doing it. According to reports, the group had planned to hit 40 percent EV sales in 2029, and its European order book is already there. The problem is profit, and that isn’t a new complaint at VW.
The Good News
VW
VW Group says about 40 percent of its European order book is all-electric, and its European battery-electric share of deliveries rose from 18 percent to 20 percent through September. Q3 European EV deliveries hit 209,100, up 19.6 percent. The cheaper Electric Urban Car Family, including the ID. Polo, has nearly 150,000 orders, according to reports. The ID. Polo starts at about $29,000, which makes it a compelling value proposition regardless of its drivetrain. VW representatives have credited rising fuel prices, amongst other factors, for EV growth in Europe.
Volkswagen
The Bad News
Volkswagen has been struggling. Over nine months, VW Group’s operating result was just about $80 million, and Q3 was a $6.6 billion operating loss, mostly a Porsche write-down and China charges. CFO Arno Antlitz said, “We currently earn less from electric vehicles than from combustion-engine vehicles,” and called that margin “too low to continue investing strongly in our future.” VW now expects an operating margin of up to 1 percent for 2026.
Globally, battery-electric deliveries fell 5.4 percent to 678,700 through September. In the US, they plunged 78.4 percent to 14,900 after the federal tax credit expired, and in China they fell about 42 percent, according to reports.
What It Means For You
Volkswagen
If you’re a US buyer, the Europe boom doesn’t really affect you. VW ended US ID.4 production earlier this year, and we haven’t seen confirmed US plans for the cheaper models. What’s clear is that VW is under pressure to cut costs, with a program worth about €31 billion (about $34.7 billion). Forbes reports that Antlitz expects EV margin and cost parity around 2030. For now, cheaper EVs in Europe are being sold at slimmer profits.
