Volkswagen Earnings Rise on Audi, Volumes Rise in China

U.S. sales fell 5.1% to just under 440,000 units for the nine months, while sales in China rose 15.2% to nearly 2.72 million units. Sales in Western Europe rose 7.3%, and they fell 18.6% in South America.

Sales of VW passenger cars worldwide rose 3% to 4.56 million units for the first three quarters, while Audi sales jumped 10% to almost 1.3 million units. Sales of the company’s Czech-made Škoda cars rose 13% to 774,000, and Porsche sales rose 13.3% to nearly 136,000. Total sales for the first three quarters came to 7.6 million units, putting the company solidly on track to reach its goal of 10 million cars sold this year, a goal the company initially hoped to reach by 2018.

The boost in sales for the company’s Audi cars and the continuing double-digit rises in Chinese sales are the good news. Operating profit in the VW passenger car segment dropped from €2.1 billion a year ago to €1.7 billion. To combat that drop-off, the company has launched a plan to cut costs, but negative impacts from currency exchange rates in the first half of 2014 and higher upfront costs have outpaced savings so far.

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