The current weakness in demand in China could cost the automaker Volkswagen 2015, more than one billion euro profit. The yield on the Chinese joint ventures of the Group lie in the current year to date by about a quarter of the previous year's margin, Manager Magazin reported in its latest issue (release date: Jul 24th). If sales remain as low as in June, could at the end of a second billion is missing, according to group circles.
China is now the most important market for Volkswagen. Europe's largest carmaker sold there 40 percent of its vehicles. After regular double-digit growth in recent years, sales declined in the first half 2015, but up 4 percent. In the VW brand saw a decline of in the first six months almost 7 percent, even 22 percent in June.
The first official visit of the new VW-brand chefs Herbert Diess in the Chinese joint venture partners got so into a kind of crisis Visite. Diess and Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn met at the edge of the guest performances of the FC Bayern München in China with Chinese partners and its own top management. Volkswagen China CEO Jochem Heizmann've even already prepared plans for an austerity program, there is at Volkswagen.