The new Volkswagen ID. EVERY1 is displayed during the presentation during the presentation of the Volkswagen ID. EVERY1 on March 5, 2025 in Dusseldorf, Germany.
Andreas Rentz | Getty Images
German autos giant Volkswagen reported a 15% year-on-year drop in annual operating profit on Tuesday, citing increasing costs and “extraordinary expenses” associated with its restructuring strategy.
It posted a revenue of 324.7 billion euros ($352.8 billion) in full-year 2024, up from 322.3 billion euros last year. The automaker said it expects sales revenue to exceed the previous year’s figure by up to 5% in 2025. It also forecasts that its operating margin, which hit 5.9% in 2024, will hit between 5.5% and 6.5% this year.
The company reported a 3.5% drop in vehicle sales through 2024, but touted the year’s “solid results in a challenging environment.”
Shares of Volkswagen were around 1.9% higher at 8:44 a.m. in London on Tuesday.
The company said it would propose a dividend of 6.30 euros per ordinary share and 6.36 per preferred share at its annual general meeting in May — a 30% cut from the previous year.
Volkswagen’s autos division ended 2024 with net liquidity at 36 billion euros, down 10.5% year-on-year. The company said it expected that figure to come in between 34 billion euros and 37 billion euros in 2025, adding it “remains the group’s goal to continue its robust financing and liquidity policy.”
However, it also warned of upcoming headwinds.
The company, which previously told CNBC it would be eligible for temporary exemptions from new U.S. tariffs, said in its earnings report on Tuesday that “political uncertainty, increasing trade restrictions and geopolitical tensions” would create challenges this year.
Increasing competition, volatile commodity prices and emissions-related regulations would also create challenges.
‘We already feel like an American company’
Speaking to CNBC’s Annette Weisbach on Tuesday, Volkswagen’s Chief Financial Officer Arno Antlitz said the company “can’t be happy” with its performance as it currently stands.
“We have great brands, Porsche, Lamborghini, Volkswagen — we have great products, and we have global scale,” he said. “And with these prerequisites, we should be able to do more.”
Antlitz nevertheless noted that the 2025 outlook “mirrors a challenging, competitive environment, but also a company and an industry in transition.”
“We have to keep our combustion engine cars competitive for our customers. We have to invest significantly in electrification, digitalization. We ramp up EVs, we ramp up software,” he said. “So these initiatives, they weigh on our financial [goals] in 2025, but should give us tailwind for 2026 and beyond.”
He added that the company’s strategy was to defend its 25% market share in Europe, maintain share in China and grow its presence in America.
When it came to U.S. President Donald Trump’s seesawing tariffs regime Antlitz said it was too early to say how Volkswagen’s operations might be impacted.
“We are a global company. We opt for open markets, I’m sure you can imagine what we think about tariffs,” he said. “What I can say [is] we already feel like an American company — we operate a huge factory in Chattanooga[, Tennessee]. We employ tens of thousands of people in Volkswagen Group of America. We create thousands of jobs in South Carolina for Scout. So we are an all-American company already, and we want to grow in the U.S.”
