BERLIN, Dec 18 (Reuters) – Volkswagen Chief Executive Oliver Blume vowed on Thursday to continue cutting costs at Europe’s largest carmaker as the company seeks to remain “competitive amid industry-wide challenges.”
Speaking at the group’s two-day management meeting in Berlin, Blume identified leadership, focus and finances as three core priorities for the new year, a company spokesperson said.
“The task now is to continue to steadily reduce our costs to remain competitive in the long term,” Blume said, adding that the company holds the keys to a bright future through its brands and products.
Chief Financial Officer Arno Antlitz said the German automaker must generate more revenue with fewer resources to be successful in the future.
“This requires even tighter cost management and investment discipline,” Antlitz said, outlining plans to improve EV margins, significantly reduce factory and fixed costs, and focus investment on future technologies.
“We need more group synergies, less complexity and a strengthening of our market position in the US and other regions outside Europe,” he added.
In December 2024, Volkswagen reached a deal with unions to dramatically restructure its German operations, including 35,000 job cuts by 2030, as it takes on cheaper Chinese rivals and navigates a slower-than-expected shift to electric vehicles.
Antlitz said this year’s overall expenses fell below the previous year’s level for the first time in a long time.
(Reporting by Christina Amann, writing by María Martinez, editing by Susan Fenton)