Volkswagen Group's profit fell by nearly 40% in 2020, and its sales fell back to ten years ago

2020 was a difficult year for Volkswagen Group. Global sales were greatly affected by the epidemic, and the group's finances faced severe challenges as it was required by the US government to pay huge compensation for "diesel emissions fraud."

Recently, Volkswagen Group released its 2020 financial report, which showed that the group achieved an after-tax profit of 8.82 billion euros (approximately RMB 68.933 billion) last year, a year-on-year drop of 37%.

Previously, Volkswagen Group predicted that after paying diesel-related special expenses in 2020, operating profit is expected to reach 10 billion euros (about 78.822 billion yuan). The current 8.82 billion euros is significantly lower than expected, but still higher than the 4.8 billion euros previously expected by analysts.

The sharp decline in operating profit is mainly due to Volkswagen's sluggish sales in 2020. The financial report shows that Volkswagen's business revenue in 2020 was 222.9 billion euros, a year-on-year decline of 11.8%. Volkswagen's global sales volume was 9.2 million vehicles, a year-on-year decline of 16.4%, which was Volkswagen's worst sales volume in a decade. The title of global car sales champion was also taken away by Toyota.

The Chinese market remains the Volkswagen Group's largest single market. In 2020, Volkswagen sold 3.85 million vehicles in China, accounting for 41.4% of Volkswagen's total sales.

However, Volkswagen's performance in China is not outstanding. After the news of "Passat C-NCAP crash", Volkswagen's sales have been declining ever since then. In 2020, SAIC Volkswagen's sales in China fell by 24.8%.

Entering 2021, Volkswagen Group is facing a reduction in production capacity due to "chip shortages", which has affected production and sales; in addition, Volkswagen is facing a huge fine of more than 100 million euros in the EU for failing to meet emission standards. At the same time, standing at the crossroads of transformation and change, 2021 is also a huge pressure for Volkswagen Group.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.