Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand
Extended model range and cost optimization measures prove effective
The Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand made considerable progress in 2007 towards its goal of becoming the most innovative volume manufacturer, with the best quality in each vehicle class. Operating profit was more than double that of the previous year.
BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
The Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand continued its positive development over the past fiscal year. In 2007, we set ourselves the target of becoming the most innovative volume manufacturer in the world within the space of a few years. The new brand slogan “Volkswagen – Das Auto” reaffirms this claim.At 3.7 million, deliveries to customers in fiscal year 2007 were 7.8% higher than in the previous year; however, this varied from market to market. While deliveries to customers in Western Europe fell by 3.6%, we recorded a marked increase in sales in Central and Eastern Europe (+29.7%). The brand also achieved impressive growth rates in Brazil (32.4%) and China (24.5%). Demand in North America remained at the previous year’s level.
Total unit sales were also 3.7 million vehicles; compared with the previous year, this is an increase of 6.2%, which is attributable above all to the improved market situation in Brazil. Demand increased worldwide for the Polo, Golf, Touran, Jetta, Passat and Eos models. Our new Golf Variant and Tiguan models met with a positive reception in the market. The production volume of the Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand was 3.7 million units in 2007, an improvement of 12.0% on 2006. The most significant increases in production figures were recorded by the Wolfsburg and Zwickau plants, and by the production facilities in Mexico and Argentina.
VOLKSWAGEN PASSENGER CARS BRAND
SALES REVENUE AND EARNINGS
In 2007, the Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand generated sales revenue of €73.9 billion, 4.6% more than in the previous year. Operating profit was €1.9 billion, a clear improvement on the previous year. This increase was primarily attributable to the successfully implemented restructuring measures, the systematic continuation of performance enhancement measures and the higher level of unit sales. The operating return on sales improved from 1.3% in 2006 to 2.6% in 2007. As part of its Strategy 2018, the Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand aims to generate sales of 6.6 million vehicles worldwide in approximately ten years, thereby increasing its global market share to 9%.
PRODUCTION
