VW Brand to Phase Out Slow-Selling Car Models to Revive Earnings

Volkswagen AG’s namesake brand will discontinue slow-selling models, such as the two-door Polo compact, and scale back equipment options in a bid to revive profitability.

Operating profit at the VW passenger car unit fell 14 percent to 2.48 billion euros ($2.64 billion) in 2014, even as sales edged up 0.4 percent to 99.8 billion euros, the Wolfsburg, Germany-based company said Thursday. That reduced the operating margin to 2.5 percent of revenue from 2.9 percent in 2013.