Volkswagen Emissions Cheating Hits Profit at Biggest Brand
- VW brand’s earnings tumble 86% as diesel scandal scars image
- Audi, Porsche anchor group profit while China earnings decline
Volkswagen Brand Profits Crumbles 86% in Q1
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Profit at Volkswagen AG’s namesake brand tumbled 86 percent in the first quarter, highlighting the challenge the automaker faces in emerging from the nearly nine-month-old scandal over cheating on emissions tests.
Operating profit at the VW nameplate dropped to 73 million euros ($81 million) from 514 million euros last year due to lower deliveries and higher marketing costs related to the scandal, Europe’s biggest carmaker said Tuesday in a statement. With the unit’s revenue slumping 4.6 percent, its operating margin shrank to 0.3 percent of sales, far short of an earlier mid-term goal of 6 percent.