Volkswagen To Significanty Exceed" 2009
When Volkswagen CFO Hans Dieter Poetsch was asked to make some forward looking statements on April 29, he was reasonably confident that Veedub could improve sales and operating profit from the 2009 level, “but that’s it.” Now suddenly, Volkswagen throw caution to the wind and says that the company would “significantly” exceed last year’s results when 2010 is over, says Reuters. That assessment, made by a usually very cautious company, is bolstered by a forecast-beating performance in the first five months.
From January to May 2010, the Volkswagen Group sold a total of 2.94m (January to May 2009: 2.49m)units. This corresponds to growth of 18.1 percent
“The positive business development was due in particular to strong demand for Group models in key markets such as Western Europe, China and North America,” Volkswagen said. Volkswagen data bear that out.
In China, Volkswagen’s largest market, the Group delivered 777,800 (524,600 in 2009) vehicles during the period January to May, a rise of 48.2 percent. Deliveries in India doubled to 13,500 (6,600; +104.3 percent) units. Growth for the Asia-Pacific Region as a whole ran at 47.6 percent.
In the USA, the Volkswagen Group delivered 145,500 units in the first five months of 2010 (109,000 in 2009), an increase of 33.5 percent.
What gives Europe headaches makes Volkswagen adjust its books: The weak Euro. The weaker the Euro, the more money VW makes on an exported car. In Volkswagen-speak, exchange rate effects among other factors had a positive impact on profit in the January-May period of this year. Nowhere is this more pronounced than in China. As the RMB is pegged against the $, Volkswagen’s sales in China are getting more profitable by the day as Greece and now Spain send the Euro down the drain.
The way things look now, Volkswagen most likely will not outpace the market by a big deal, and will therefore not be a threat to Toyota or GM as far as deliveries go. The weak Euro however will have a very strong effect on their books.
Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.
More by Bertel Schmitt
Comments
Join the conversation
I should add, I have an 09 TDI sportwagen myself. Closing in on 17k, not one problem anywhere on this car. Sure, I'm concerned about the fuel pump issue, but when I bought the car a year ago I was supposed to be terrified of the DSG transmission. VW extended that warranty to 100k miles, and I predict the same approach will have to be taken with the fuel pump. What I despise is the snarky comments by people who think they know everything about VWs, when in fact all they know is that they hear VWs have reliability problems. There is no question that the quality and styling of VW interiors alone is beyond the standard of any of the competitors.
Well, I had a 2007 GTI which was flawless that was traded in on a 2008 R32. That car had a problem with constant check engine lights and went back to the dealer seven times and was out of service over a month combined. They replaced a gas vapor purge valve (N-80) four times (a leading to an eventual recall for all 5000 US based R32) and the gas tank. The very next day after the seventh attempt at repair, the check engine light came on again, causing me to throw in the towel. Even though I could have claimed a Lemon Law case, I was sick of dealing with it and traded it in on a CPO 328i. Still, I figure VW is entitled to a bad car every now and then and now have a 2010 GTI sitting in my garage next to the BMW. I had a 1983 Rabbit GTI that I drove for 10 years that was pretty good for reliability. A bad alternator threw me to the side of I-40 one cold and rainy November night, but that was the only thing that really broke on the car. I fondly remember that car more than any other I have ever owned. One still cannot ignore that VWs are statistically more trouble-prone than most other makes. Anecdotal stories aside, the brand has been improving with the Mark V Golf/Jetta platform after a dismal experience with the Mark IV. The hope is the Mark VI continues that upward trend.