The Volkswagen engine has seriously stalled in 2021, and the outlook for 2022 remains uncertain. The German group, which published its sales figures for the past year on Wednesday 12 January, conceded a drop of 4.5% in the volume sold in the world compared to 2020, which was already a catastrophic year. In total, the group sold 8.9 million vehicles in 2021, ie its level of… 2011.
One figure, in particular, is disastrous: it was in China, its largest market, that Volkswagen recorded the most significant decline. In 2021, vehicle sales collapsed by 14.1% in the country, reducing the market share of the German group to 11%, against 14% to 15% in previous years. As the German group sells four out of ten automobiles in the Middle Kingdom, this sign bodes very badly for the future. The missing chips, as well as the supply problems of components and raw materials, would be responsible for this decline, underlined the group, which also faces increased competition from Chinese manufacturers.
In the rest of the world, the picture is less dramatic. Western Europe, the group’s traditional market, saw its sales decline by only 2.7% and the United States favored its brands, which grew by 16% across the Atlantic. Another source of pride for Volkswagen: sales of electric vehicles doubled over the period, with half a million cars sold. The German group is in pole position in this sector on the European market, ahead of Tesla – for the moment. We were obviously starting a long way off: combustion vehicles continue to represent 95% of Volkswagen’s sales.
Preferred high margin models
The year which opens does not promise any clarification for the moment. The semiconductor crisis, which mainly affected so-called “volume” (mid-range) brands, is not over. Faced with the shortage, the group had favored, like its competitors, the production of high-margin models like Porsches or Bentleys, sold more expensive than usual, to the detriment of mid-range models like Skoda. The final figures, in the spring, will say whether these two effects were able to offset each other for Volkswagen. And the manufacturer is also counting on its juicy financial department to cushion the shock on sales.
The question is of crucial importance because Volkswagen, grappling with the biggest transformation in its history, cannot afford to see its financial leeway erode too strongly. The former emperor of the thermal vehicle, shaken by the “dieselgate” scandal in 2015, adopted a very ambitious plan for electrification and digitization.
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