VW Group Plans to Halve Car Models by 2030 in Major Restructuring
Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Executive Board of the Volkswagen Group (VW) has set out a future plan under which the automotive giant will gradually cut up to 50 per cent of its global model portfolio by 2030, restructuring the business to maintain its position amid increasingly fierce competition.
According to a Carscoops report on Friday (10/7), the company said it had achieved its key targets in the areas of products, technology and regions during three years of “fundamental realignment”, whilst overcoming external financial obstacles.
Nevertheless, VW Group said there is still work to be done before Volkswagen becomes a “more resilient, efficient and agile” company.
CEO Oliver Blume and CFO Arno Antlitz explained that the company is carrying out the restructuring to reduce costs and steer the group’s return on sales towards a target of 8 to 10 per cent.
To achieve that target, VW will not only reduce the number of car models on offer, but also plans to cut complexity by 75 per cent.
The reduction in complexity will be achieved by reducing the number of drivetrain options, trim variants and equipment packages available, and eliminating “parallel structures” that have allowed several brands within the group to develop the same technology separately.
VW will also adjust its production capacity to match global demand and the level of competition, with a production target of 9 million vehicles per year, roughly the same as the number of vehicles the VW Group delivered in 2024 and 2025.
VW is reportedly considering up to 100,000 redundancies as well as the closure of four factories in Germany.
If this goes ahead, the move would represent the largest restructuring in the history of the automotive industry.
The Volkswagen Group is the parent company of the German automotive group, overseeing brands such as Volkswagen, Audi, Porsche, Skoda Auto, SEAT, CUPRA, Lamborghini, Bentley Motors and Ducati.
VW also said that investment will be directed towards products and technologies that “deliver the greatest value” for customers as well as the Volkswagen Group.
This means that strong-selling models such as the Polo, Golf, T-Roc and Tiguan are highly unlikely to be discontinued.
However, more niche derivative models such as the T-Roc Cabriolet and the ID.5 coupe SUV are currently considered insufficiently profitable. Sales of the ID. Buzz have also fallen short of VW’s expectations.
VW’s continuously expanding product catalogue in China is also likely to be trimmed.