Volkswagen Group Launches Plan to Cut Costs by 20% by 2028 Amid Global Sales Decline and Financial Pressure

Facing declining global sales and financial difficulties, Volkswagen Group announced it will cut costs across all its brands by 20% by the end of 2028. In 2025, Volkswagen’s global sales dipped slightly by 0.5%, while sales in China fell by 8%, and deliveries of its battery-electric vehicles plummeted by 44.3%. Sales in North America declined by 10.4%, with U.S. tariffs alone causing losses of €2.1 billion. Financially, the company reported a net loss of €1.07 billion in the third quarter of 2025, and its net profit for the first nine months of the year dropped sharply by 61.5% year-on-year. To achieve its cost-cutting target, Volkswagen has already launched several measures: reducing the number of board members in its "Core Brand Cluster" from 29 to 19 and consolidating over 20 global plants into five production regions. These actions are expected to save €1 billion annually in production alone by 2030, significantly enhancing operational efficiency.