Volkswagen Wants to Be the “World’s Best”

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By Trey Thoelcke Updated Published
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In rather a statement of the obvious, Volkswagen said today that market conditions in Europe had become noticeably tougher and that they likely would not get better in the near future. However, Europe’s largest auto maker believes it is better positioned than its rivals to handle the economic uncertainty.

It is true that VW’s large presence in such dynamic markets as China and Russia does give it some advantage over European mass-market rivals such as PSA Peugeot-Citroen and Renault. VW has a healthier balance sheet as well.

Volkswagen said worldwide deliveries rose 10% to 5.91 million cars and SUVs in the first eight months of this year. That contrasts with a 6.6% industrywide contraction in Europe, with sales in 2012 forecast to reach a 17-year low.

Volkswagen previously said it expects its operating profit to remain flat year-on-year in 2012 despite higher vehicles sales. This is due to large investments for expanding production capacity and for its new modular toolkit technology. The new modular system will enable VW to share certain components and technology between a wide variety of different vehicles across the group. It is part of Volkswagen’s strategy to boost sales volume, safeguard profit margins and take on market leaders such as General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) and Toyota Motor Corp. (NYSE: TM).

CEO Martin Winterkorn has said that Volkswagen wants to become the “world’s best auto maker” by 2018. But that is likely a goal shared by all the major auto makers.

Read: Cars with the Most Safety Complaints

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About the Author Trey Thoelcke →

Trey has been an editor and author at 24/7 Wall St. for more than a decade, where he has published thousands of articles analyzing corporate earnings, dividend stocks, short interest, insider buying, private equity, and market trends. His comprehensive coverage spans the full spectrum of financial markets, from blue-chip stalwarts to emerging growth companies.

Beyond 24/7 Wall St., Trey has created and edited financial content for Benzinga and AOL's BloggingStocks, contributing additional hundreds of articles to the investment community. He previously oversaw the 24/7 Climate Insights site, managing editorial operations and content strategy, and currently oversees and creates content for My Investing News.

Trey's editorial expertise extends across multiple publishing environments. He served as production editor at Dearborn Financial Publishing and development editor at Kaplan, where he helped shape financial education materials. Earlier in his career, he worked as a writer-producer at SVE. His freelance editing portfolio includes work for prestigious clients such as Sage Publications, Rand McNally, the Institute for Supply Management, the American Library Association, Eggplant Literary Productions, and Spiegel.

Outside of financial journalism, Trey writes fiction and has been an active member of the writing community for years, overseeing a long-running critique group and moderating workshop sessions at regional conventions. He lives with his family in an old house in the Midwest.

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