Frankfurt: German carmaker Volkswagen posted sturdy first-half earnings on Thursday however reduce this yr’s forecast for automotive deliveries over a worsening scarcity of semiconductor chips.
The 12-brand group — together with Porsche, Audi, Seat and Skoda — nonetheless lifted its revenue goal for 2021 after high-end autos drove a “file” efficiency over the primary six months.
VW mentioned it was now focusing on an working return on gross sales, a closely-watched measure of efficiency, of 6.0 to 7.5 p.c. The earlier aim had been 5.5-7.0 p.c.
Adjusted working earnings, earlier than particular objects, reached 11.4 billion euros ($13.5 billion), increased than the ten billion euros achieved over the identical interval in pre-crisis 2019 — the yr earlier than coronavirus lockdowns pummelled the auto {industry}.
VW chief government officer Herbert Diess welcomed “the file end result”.
“The premium phase carried out particularly effectively with double-digit returns,” he mentioned in a press release.
However whereas the group mentioned it had managed to comprise the affect from the worldwide scarcity of semiconductors to date, the fallout would possible be “extra pronounced” within the third quarter.
Like different carmakers, VW has not too long ago been compelled to trim manufacturing at some crops due to a provide crunch of the essential pc chips, fuelled by a pandemic-driven surge in demand for house electronics.
The consequences might already be felt in key market China, the place VW mentioned it had not too long ago recorded declines.
“The chance of bottlenecks and disruption within the provide of semiconductor parts has intensified all through the {industry},” VW mentioned, including that it was reducing its full-year deliveries forecast.
It now expects deliveries to prospects to be “noticeably up” on 2020, assuming the financial restoration from the pandemic stays on observe.
VW had beforehand estimated that deliveries could be “considerably” increased.
Diess additionally famous that the group’s e-offensive was “selecting up momentum”, with 171,000 all-electric autos delivered worldwide, a soar of 165 p.c year-on-year.
The group, which is spending tens of billions of euros on the industry-wide shift in direction of greener automobiles, has set its sights on turn into the world chief in electrical automobile gross sales.
VW expects battery-powered automobiles to make up half its gross sales by 2030, and “virtually 100%” by 2040.
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Volkswagen additionally lowered the outlook for deliveries to prospects, now anticipating them to be up noticeably in 2021 as an ongoing scarcity of essential semiconductors might be felt principally within the second half of the yr.
