By Agency Staff
Frankfurt ― Volkswagen Group plans to invest €160bn through 2030, CEO Oliver Blume said, reflecting belt-tightening as Europe’s top carmaker faces a major crisis in its two main markets: China and the US.
Total spending, updated annually as part of Volkswagen’s rolling five-year investment plan, compares with €165bn for the 2025-29 period and €180bn for 2024-28, with 2024 marking a peak. Since then, Volkswagen, which includes the Porsche and Audi brands, has been squeezed by tariffs on US imports and fierce competition in China.
This has hurt profits most notably at Porsche, which sells about half its cars in just these two markets and unveiled a major rollback on its electric vehicle strategy.
Blume told the weekly Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung that the focus in the latest spending plan is “on Germany and Europe”, including in products, technology and infrastructure. He said talks about an extended savings programme at Porsche will run into 2026.
US support
Blume, who will step down as Porsche CEO in January to focus on the Volkswagen CEO role, said considerations around a potential US plant for Audi depend on possible substantial financial support by Washington.
While Porsche is not expected to grow in China, he said localising production in the wider Volkswagen group is possible, and a tailor-made Porsche model for China may make sense one day.
Blume said his recent contract extension as Volkswagen CEO until 2030 is a clear signal of support by the shareholding Porsche and Piech families, as well as the German state of Lower Saxony, Volkswagen’s two biggest investors.
“But it is true, of course, that shareholders have suffered losses since Porsche went public three years ago. I, too, must face up to this criticism.”
