Volkswagen posts €5.82 billion third-quarter loss on Porsche writedown and China slump

A deeper loss in the third quarter

Volkswagen reported a net loss of €5.82 billion for July to September 2026, a figure the group released on Thursday, 29 October. The loss compares with €1.07 billion in the same quarter of 2025. RTE and Le Soir put the operating loss at about €5.9 billion, and Le Soir calculates an operating margin of minus 7.8% for the quarter. Revenue fell 6.3% to around €75.3 billion, a steeper drop than analysts had expected, according to RTE. The company attributes the result mainly to special items, which Blick and Le Soir put at €7.8 billion, while RTE quotes finance chief Arno Antlitz citing around €8 billion.

Q3 20251.07

Q3 20265.82

Q3 2025

1.07 EUR bn

Q3 2026

5.82 EUR bn

Data from the article text

Porsche writedown and China slump

The biggest single item is a €6.4 billion writedown on goodwill at the Porsche subsidiary, which SRF says reflects lower expectations for the luxury brand's future. The writedown is non-cash but still weighs heavily on operating profit. Le Soir reports a further €1 billion of impairments on assets in China, a market where the group faces fierce competition. Deliveries in China fell 38.5% to 405,800 vehicles in the third quarter. Group deliveries in the quarter dropped 14.3% to 1.89 million vehicles, according to Blick and SRF. Other special items include the cost of ending production of the ID.4 in the United States, restructuring charges and costs tied to the planned sale of the Osnabrück plant, which is to be converted for defence work, Le Soir reports. Le Soir also puts total special items for the nine months at €8.7 billion.

Forecast cut and cost plan

In mid-September, Volkswagen lowered its 2026 profit margin forecast to a maximum of 1%, down from an earlier range of 4.0% to 5.5%, SRF reports. Before special items, the operating return on sales after nine months stood at 3.8%. Antlitz said the group must act quickly.

“The nine-month results make one thing clear: We cannot afford to lose any time. We must act quickly and decisively”

Antlitz also said the figure was too low for the long term.

“That is not enough in the long term.”

The group plans up to 100,000 job cuts across its brands, including Audi and Porsche. NOS reports that 50,000 further cuts were announced in September, on top of 50,000 announced earlier. Le Soir says the group aims to save €31 billion in total.

Plants and unions

RTE reports that under CEO Oliver Blume's plan up to four plants in Germany face closure, a proposal that has drawn fierce opposition from unions and possible strikes from early next year. NOS reports that Emden, Zwickau, Hannover and Neckarsulm will get no new models unless costs can be brought down there, and that these plants may later be used by the defence sector. Blume had already announced those adjustments before the quarterly results. The Osnabrück sale is a separate step, with Le Soir noting the plant is to be converted for defence use. The third-quarter figures add pressure to a restructuring the group has already committed to with its unions.