German luxury car brands collectively failed! Volkswagen's global sales plummeted by 7%
The European and Asian markets experienced the most severe decline, with sales of the electric vehicle model Taycan plummeting by 47%. In the luxury car sector, other European high-end brands such as Bayerische Motoren Werke (BMW) and Mercedes-Benz are also facing similar sales pressures
At a critical moment when the world is transitioning to electric vehicles, German automotive giant Volkswagen still faces severe sales challenges.
In the third quarter, Volkswagen's global sales dropped by 7%, with the most severe declines in the European and Asian markets. In particular, sales of the electric model Taycan plummeted by 47%.
The luxury brand under Volkswagen, Porsche, achieved a near 10-year low in sales in the Chinese region.
Furthermore, Volkswagen's pure electric vehicles also experienced significant declines in sales in Europe and the United States, with decreases of 12% and over 40% respectively.
Setback for German Luxury Cars, Sales Slump
Marco Schubert, Volkswagen's sales director, stated that the competitive situation in China is particularly fierce, which is the main reason for the company's global sales decline.
In the luxury car sector, other European high-end brands such as BMW and Mercedes-Benz are also facing similar sales pressures.
Yesterday's Mercedes report showed that the group sold 594,600 cars and trucks in the third quarter, a 3% year-on-year decrease; sales of pure electric vehicles dropped by 31% to 46,900 units.
In the third quarter, Mercedes-Benz's deliveries in China decreased by 13% to 170,700 units, with low demand for expensive models like the S-Class and Maybach sedans.
Additionally, Mercedes-Benz's overall sales of high-end cars in this quarter dropped by 12%. Some analysts point out that this signifies a setback in Mercedes-Benz's further consolidation of its high-end brand position and is another warning signal for the German luxury car market:
"The market environment for electric vehicle sales remains sluggish, with intense pricing competition in key markets."
BMW Group's sales in the third quarter decreased by 13% year-on-year. BMW and Mini brands saw a 30% decline in sales in China in the third quarter, the largest drop in over four years.
However, BMW stated that they had previously issued an emergency recall of 1.5 million vehicles due to brake system failures, which also impacted the delivery data