Alarm bells are ringing at Volkswagen: the Board of Management is planning a radical restructuring of the Group, including plant closures and the elimination of up to 100,000 jobs. The reason? The carmaker is losing competitiveness—particularly in China. This is evident from the recently published delivery figures for the second quarter, which also form the basis for the first-half-year key performance indicators. According to these figures, the Group delivered 4.13 million vehicles worldwide from January to June—a 6% decline compared to the first half of 2025, when 4.41 million vehicles were sold.
Battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) failed to reverse the trend for Volkswagen, recording a 5.8% decline in sales from 465,600 to 438,500 BEVs. Focusing solely on the second quarter, deliveries fell to 238,400 BEVs compared to Q2 2025 (–4.2% year-on-year). The Group’s statistics reveal striking regional disparities:
Thus, the Volkswagen Group remains the BEV market leader in Europe, with 377,000 sales in the first half of the year (+8.4%). In contrast, the US and Chinese markets are losing significance. Sales of battery-electric vehicles in these regions plummeted by 69% and 48%, respectively. The only silver lining is that Volkswagen managed to slightly mitigate these losses in the second quarter, reducing them to 49% and 36%, respectively. Volkswagen attributes this to “early positive signals from newly introduced, locally developed electric models in China, despite a significant decline in Q2.” The Wolfsburg-based company cites “the phasing out of government incentive programmes in the first half of the year, along with the impact of increased tariffs,” as the reason for the sharp decline in the US.
Customer Deliveries by MarketApr. – Jun. 2026Apr. – Jun. 2025Delta (%)Jan. – Jun. 2026Jan. – Jun. 2025Delta (%)Europe200,700189,800+5.7377,000347,900+8.4USA5,80011,400-49.09,80031,300-68.8China21,50033,400-35.630,90059,400-47.9Rest of the World10,40014,200-26.420,70027,000-23.2World238,400248,800-4.2438,500465,600-5.8
On a more positive note, plug-in hybrids (PHEVs), which Volkswagen’s statistics also include as range-extender vehicles (EREVs), saw a 27% increase in the first six months of the year—reaching 246,000 units. These accounted for 6% of the Group’s total sales in the first half of the year. BEVs represented 10.6% of total deliveries. The Group’s first EREV model is the ID. ERA 9X04 in China, which is reportedly already approaching over 10,000 deliveries.
Regarding the total of 4.13 million vehicles delivered, Volkswagen only partially offset the losses in its China business (–26% year-on-year) in the first half of the year through gains in South America (+8% year-on-year), Western Europe (+3% year-on-year), and Central and Eastern Europe (+7% year-on-year). In North America, the first six months recorded a 3% decline. This figure underscores that internal combustion engine vehicles are currently faring better for Volkswagen in the US than electric models.
Turning to the Group’s battery-electric vehicle statistics, Volkswagen lists the following models as its best-selling BEVs:
Škoda Elroq – 59,900 unitsVolkswagen ID.4/ID.5 – 53,700Škoda Enyaq (incl. Coupé) – 48,300Volkswagen ID.3 – 44,400Audi Q4 e-tron (SUV/Sportback) – 33,800Audi Q6 e-tron (SUV/Sportback) – 31,900Volkswagen ID.7 (incl. Tourer) – 29,500Volkswagen ID. Buzz (incl. Cargo) – 27,200Cupra Born – 20,800Audi A6 e-tron (Avant/Sportback) – 18,400
Additionally, Volkswagen published a detailed breakdown of how battery-electric vehicle sales have developed across its individual brands. The figures show that Porsche (–31% year-on-year) and Volkswagen Passenger Cars (–28% year-on-year) experienced a particularly weak first half of the year in BEV sales. In contrast, Škoda (+48% year-on-year) is emerging as a volume driver, as highlighted by the ranking above, which features two Škoda electric models in the top three. As a result, the gap in BEV sales between the VW and Škoda brands narrowed to just 30,000 units in the first half of the year. A year earlier, the difference was nearly 120,000.
Customer Deliveries by BrandApr. – Jun. 2026Apr. – Jun. 2025Delta (%)Jan. – Jun. 2026Jan. – Jun. 2025Delta (%)Core Brand Group172,900177,300-2.5317,900328,800-3.3Volkswagen Passenger Cars75,90097,500-22.2138,300192,700-28.2Škoda56,40046,000+22.7108,20073,000+48.3SEAT/CUPRA22,50019,000+18.540,30037,600+7.2Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles18,00014,800+21.631,10025,500+22.0Progressive Brand Group53,00055,000-3.795,000101,400-6.3Audi53,00055,000-3.795,000101,400-6.3Bentley – – – – – –Lamborghini – – – – – –Sport Luxury Brand Group11,60015,800-26.923,70034,200-30.8Porsche11,60015,800-26.923,70034,200-30.8Trucks / TRATON Brand Group1,000600+62.21,9001,200+51.4Scania270120+126.5400220+78.7MAN560430+30.31,100800+36.7International21090+126.9390180+120.1Volkswagen Truck & Bus00+100.01050-87.2Volkswagen Group (total)238,400248,800-4.2438,500465,600-5.8
In light of these somewhat sobering figures, Volkswagen emphasises that BEV demand is expected to recover soon. The order backlog for all-electric vehicles in Europe has risen by over 50%. Volkswagen says the recently introduced Electric Urban Car Family, featuring the VW ID. Polo, Škoda Epiq, and Cupra Raval, has proven extremely popular with customers, with over 54,000 orders. Across all drive types, order intake increased by 4%, with the BEV share of the order backlog now exceeding 30%, according to the Group. This suggests a growing share of electric vehicles in future sales statistics. The current 10.6% is a relatively low figure. In comparison, at Mercedes-Benz Passenger Cars, every eighth new Mercedes passenger car sold in the second quarter was fully electric (13% BEV share).
Marco Schubert, Member of the Extended Group Board of Management for Sales at Volkswagen, comments: “The Volkswagen Group grew by around two per cent overall in the first half of the year outside of China. We continued to gain ground, particularly in South America and Europe. It is especially pleasing to note that in our home region, the Electric Urban Car Family – launched just a few weeks ago – is being very well received by our customers. […] “The situation in China remains challenging, where we were unable to escape a significant total market decline of around 20 per cent – despite initial positive momentum from our newly introduced, locally developed electric vehicles,” says Schubert.
volkswagen-group.com
