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Volkswagen Group reported an operating loss of 5.9 billion euros in the third quarter of 2026 and a net loss of 2.72 billion euros for the January-September period, weighed down by a slump in China and heavy one-off charges.

Quarterly sales revenue fell 6.3 percent to 75.28 billion euros and global deliveries dropped 14.3 percent, while analysts had expected a much smaller operating loss of 2.6 billion euros.

Quarterly loss far exceeds forecasts

Volkswagen Group, whose brands include Audi, Bugatti, Seat, Skoda and Porsche, released financial results for the July-September quarter and for the January-September period. The world's second-largest carmaker booked a 5.9 billion euro operating loss in the quarter, against a 1.3 billion euro loss a year earlier and an analyst forecast of 2.6 billion euros in losses.

Net loss after tax for the quarter reached 2.7 billion euros, compared with a 3.4 billion euro net profit in the same period last year. Sales revenue declined 6.3 percent to 75.28 billion euros. Group-wide vehicle deliveries fell 14.3 percent to 1.885 million units, and deliveries in China dropped 38.5 percent to 406,000 vehicles as the market there contracted.

Porsche write-down drives one-off charges

One main reason for the sharp drop in the accounts was an impairment on the Porsche sports car subsidiary. Weakening expectations for the business led Volkswagen to book a 6.4 billion euro write-down of the Porsche brand value, a non-cash charge that directly reduced operating profit.

A further write-down of about 1 billion euros tied to market share losses in China, along with other items, brought total one-off negative effects to 7.8 billion euros.

Nine-month net loss of 2.72 billion euros

For January through September 2026, Volkswagen Group posted a net loss of 2.72 billion euros, citing the sharp contraction in Chinese demand and one-off charges. The company had reported a 3.4 billion euro net profit in the same period last year.

Sales revenue for the nine months fell 2.2 percent to 233.378 billion euros from 238.67 billion euros a year earlier. Global deliveries were down 9 percent at 6.01 million vehicles.

Volkswagen recorded its first period loss in China since beginning operations there. China operations had produced a 744 million euro profit in the January-September period last year, but generated a 113 million euro operating deficit in the same period this year.

Management signals cuts and possible job losses

Group Chief Financial Officer Arno Antlitz said the nine-month results "make one thing clear: we do not have a single minute to lose. We have to act quickly and decisively."

The figures are seen as strengthening the hand of the management board led by Chief Executive Oliver Blume in cost-cutting talks with the unions. Under Volkswagen's restructuring plan, 100,000 employees face dismissal worldwide, and there is a risk that some plants could close, including three Volkswagen factories in Hanover, Emden and Zwickau and an Audi plant in Neckarsulm.

After cutting its profit forecasts in the middle of September, the company expects total revenue of about 315 billion euros for the full year. It projects an operating profit of no more than 1 percent of revenue, down from an earlier target range of 4 to 5.5 percent.

Key takeaways

• Volkswagen Group posted a 5.9 billion euro operating loss in the third quarter of 2026, far worse than the 2.6 billion euro loss analysts had forecast.
• A 6.4 billion euro impairment on Porsche and about 1 billion euros of write-downs in China pushed total one-off charges to 7.8 billion euros.
• For January-September, the group reported a 2.72 billion euro net loss and its first period loss in China, against a profit there a year earlier.
• Management plans talks with unions on cost cuts that could affect 100,000 jobs and several plants in Germany.