VW earns just 12 euros per car, CAM study finds; Mercedes halts German investment

Profit per car at Volkswagen

The Center of Automotive Management (CAM) published its study on Thursday, 12 November 2026, putting Volkswagen's profit at 12 euros per vehicle sold. Special charges totalling 8.7 billion euros account for most of the gap. Those charges are non-cash book value adjustments tied to Porsche goodwill, and people close to the works council and state politics describe them as distorting the result. Even so, the adjusted operating margin is only 3.8%, and the study says Volkswagen must still improve its cost base and earnings power to stay competitive.

“The zero margin paints too negative a picture of the ongoing business.”

Industry margins under pressure

Across the industry, margins have narrowed. After nine months, carmakers averaged a 3.6% return, compared with 4% a year earlier, and two thirds of companies earned less than before. The study puts average profit per vehicle at 1,363 euros, down from 1,409 euros a year earlier. Stefan Bratzel, director of CAM, warned that the gap between profit and revenue is worrying for the whole sector.

“If profit falls almost six times faster than revenue, that is an alarm signal for the industry.”

He added that the transformation must focus more on profitable innovation and leaner structures.

Mercedes4,198

BMW3,059

Industry average1,363

Tesla1,335

Stellantis250

Volkswagen12

Mercedes

4198 euros

BMW

3059 euros

Industry average

1363 euros

Tesla

1335 euros

Stellantis

250 euros

Volkswagen

12 euros

Data from the article text

Rivals and the margin gap

Mercedes lifted its profit per car by 31% to 4,198 euros. BMW earns 3,059 euros, about a third less than a year earlier, while Toyota and General Motors also earned above the average. Tesla sits just under the average at 1,335 euros with a 2.6% profitability rate. Ford (3.1%), BYD (4.8%), Chery (7.6%) and Suzuki (9.3%) earned between 994 and 1,254 euros per car. Geely, SAIC and Great Wall each earn roughly 700 euros, and Stellantis, parent of Opel, only 250 euros. On the adjusted 3.8% margin, the study's figures place Volkswagen at a little over 1,520 euros per car, still above the average.

Mercedes halts German investment

The study came as Mercedes stopped new investment in Germany. Production board member Michael Schiebe said in an interview published on Thursday on the company's internal intranet that the board had decided to stop all further investment in its German sites. He linked the decision to stalled talks with the employee side over cost reductions and said the company would have to consider closures if the cost structure did not change.

“We are now forced to examine carefully which German sites we would have to close if we do not achieve a change in the cost structure.”

Reactions and open questions

People close to the works council and state politics argue that the special charges distort the Volkswagen result, while one commentary in the debate holds that low margins leave too little money for battery technology, semiconductors and software. That commentary also says the workforce side resists pay adjustments and plant utilisation changes, which makes long-term job guarantees hard to finance. Schiebe described the review of German sites as still to be carried out, and no timetable for the cost talks appears in the study coverage.