The Volkswagen Group continues to pick up speed.
In the first quarter, the company brought in a whopping billion-dollar profit - but the shortages in semiconductors remain a problem.
Wolfsburg - Volkswagen * got off to a strong start to the year despite the Corona * pandemic and the supply bottlenecks for semiconductors. The bottom line was that the group made a profit of around 3.4 billion euros from January to March, as VW announced on Thursday morning. That was around seven times as much as in the same quarter of the previous year, which was marked by the consequences of the pandemic. The turnover went up by 13 percent to 62.4 billion euros. Sales climbed 21 percent to 2.4 million vehicles, while sales of e-cars doubled to around 133,300.
Chief Financial Officer Arno Antlitz spoke of a "strong performance".
However, one still has to keep an eye on the shortage of important electronic components: "The undersupply of semiconductors in the entire industry will probably have somewhat more pronounced effects in the second quarter than before."
VW: CEO Diess optimistic for the rest of the year
CEO Herbert Diess * was nevertheless confident that the recovery after the virus crisis would continue: “We started the year with a lot of momentum. A lot can be expected of us in the further course of the year. ”Volkswagen raised the outlook for the coming months slightly: Provided that the pandemic is contained, sales are now well above the previous year's figure and a profit margin of 5.5 to 7 percent in ongoing business is targeted . Previously, the world's second-largest automaker had promised an operating return at the upper end of the range between five and 6.5 percent.
(dpa / utz) * Merkur.de is part of IPPEN.DIGITAL.