FRANKFURT, Sept 18 (Reuters) – Volkswagen on Friday slashed its outlook, flagging €10 billion ($11.5 billion) in one-off items related to its stake in luxury sportscar maker Porsche, provisions for job cuts and a weak Chinese market.
The profit warning deepens a crisis at the world’s second-largest automaker, which earlier this month managed to agree far-reaching cuts with unions in the face of fierce competition from Asian rivals, US tariffs and stagnant demand in Europe.
Shares in the company fell 5.6% on the news.
The German-based group, which also includes the Audi, Skoda and Seat brands among others, now expects a profit margin of 1% at the most in 2026, having previously guided for 4.0% to 5.5%.
The automaker warned of a “further deterioration in the market environment, especially in China, as well as an accelerated shift in demand in favour of battery-electric vehicles”.
This, it said, would lead to lower expectations for the Audi and Volkswagen passenger car brands.
($1 = 0.8721 euros)
(Reporting by Tristan Veyet in Gdansk and Christoph Steitz; Editing by Kevin Liffey and Louise Heavens)
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