• News
  • Guides
  • Reviews
  • Media
  • About
  • News
  • Guides
  • Reviews
  • Media
  • About
Sign up Now (For Free)

Sign up for our newsletter and receive the latest automotive news in your inbox!

Invalid email address
We promise not to spam you. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Thanks for subscribing!
News
Read Now
  • All News
  • Automakers
  • Automobiles
  • Auto Shows
  • Business
  • EVs & Environment
  • Guides
  • Lawsuits/Legal
  • Regulatory
  • Ride-Sharing
  • Safety & Recalls
  • Technology
Recent
  • Week Ahead: Chicago … that Toddling Town
  • The Rearview Mirror: Tailfins Take Flight
  • TikTok Reveals the Hottest EVs in the Industry
  • Millions of Older Hyundai, Kia Owners May Face Trouble Getting Car Insurance
  • Bugatti Chiron Profilée Sets New Auction Sales Record
  • Another Delay for VinFast Customers
  • Ford Making Return to Formula One for 2026 Season
  • Ford CEO Farley “Frustrated” by $2 Billion Loss for 2022
  • Hyundai Ioniq 6 Achieves EPA-Estimated 361-Mile Range
  • Nissan’s Virtual EV Convertible, the Max-Out Reappears in Sheet Metal Form
Editor’s Choice
    Reviews
    Read Now
    • All Reviews
      • Feeder
    • Classic Cars
    • Concept Cars
    • Convertibles
    • Coupes
    • Crossovers/CUVs
    • Diesel
    • Hot hatches
    • Hybrids
    • Luxury Vehicles
    • Minivans
    • Muscle Cars
    • Pickups
    • Sedans
    • Sports Cars
    • Super Cars
    • SUVs
    Recent Reviews
    • A Week With: 2023 Lexus GX 460 Black Line
    • A Week With: 2023 BMW X1 xDrive28i
    • A Week With: 2023 Kia Niro EV
    • A Week With: 2023 Hyundai Palisade Calligraphy
    • A Week With: 2023 Ford F-150 Raptor R 4x4 Super Crew
    • A Week With: 2023 Genesis Electrified G80 AWD
    • A Week With: 2023 Land Rover Defender 110 V-8
    • First Drive: 2023 Honda Pilot TrailSport
    • A Week With: 2023 Jaguar F-Type R Coupe
    • A Week With: 2023 GMC Yukon Denali Ultimate
    Editor’s Choice
      Guides
      Car Warranty
      • Endurance Warranty Reviews
      • BMW Extended Warranty
      • Extended Warranty For Cars Over 100k Miles
      • Extended Car Warranty Cost
      • Subaru Extended Warranty
      • CarShield Reviews
      • CarShield Cost
      • Aftermarket Car Warranty
      • CARCHEX Warranty Reviews
      • Reputable Extended Car Warranty Companies
      • Used Car Warranty Companies
      • Best Car Warranty
      • Is CarShield A Scam?
      • Mercedes Extended Warranty
      • CarShield Plans
      Insurance
      • How To Identify A Car Insurance Company
      • Geico Mechanical Breakdown Insurance
      • How Far Back Does A Car Insurance Company Look
      • Mechanical Breakdown Insurance For Used Cars
      • State Farm Mechanical Breakdown Insurance
      • Mechanical Breakdown Insurance From Progressive
      • Dollar A Day Insurance
      • Auto Insurance For SSI Recipients
      • Car Insurance Rates After A Suspended License
      • Auto Insurance For Salvage Vehicles
      • Average Cost of Dodge Ram 1500 Car Insurance
      • Car Insurance Florida
      • Full Coverage Auto Insurance
      • GrubHub Insurance
      • Amazon Delivery Auto Insurance
      Shipping
      • Car Shipping Companies
      • uShip Reviews
      • Auto Shipping From California To Hawaii
      • Montway Auto Transport Reviews
      • Cheap Car Shipping
      • Easy Auto Ship Reviews
      • Auto Shipping Miami
      • Auto Shipping To Alaska
      • Car Shipping Cost
      • Auto Shipping Hawaii
      • Auto Shipping Puerto Rico
      • Sherpa Auto Transport Reviews
      • Auto Shipping Atlanta
      • Auto Shipping Boston
      • Auto Shipping. Chicago
      About
      • About Us
      • Contact Us
      • Terms of Use
      • Privacy Policy
      • Affiliate Disclosure
      • Sitemap
      TheDetroitBureau.com

      More than just “another” place to find news, reviews, spy shots, commentary, features, and guides about the auto industry. TheDetroitBureau doesn’t stop with the press releases or confuse a few lines of opinion with insightful, in-depth reporting.

      Contact Us

      Like what you see? Have some ideas for making The Detroit Bureau.com even better? Let us know, we’d love to hear your voice.

        Media
        Listen Now
        • Headlight News: All Episodes
        More from TheDetroitBureau
        • Guides
        • Latest News
        • Auto Reviews
        • Podcasts
        Headlight News

        TheDetroitBureau.com’s Headlight News offers a look at the past week’s top automotive news stories, as well as what’s coming up in the week ahead. Check out the week’s top story and our latest review…along with a dive into the past with this week in automotive history.

        home > news > Automakers > VW Earnings Strong Despite Hit from Diesel Scandal

        VW Earnings Strong Despite Hit from Diesel Scandal

        Credit largely goes to higher-priced crossovers like VW Atlas.

        Paul A. Eisenstein
        Paul A. Eisenstein , Publisher & Editor-in-Chief
        May 02, 2019
        VW's utility vehicles now account for 23% of group sales, with a target of 20% by late 2020.

        Volkswagen’s earnings took a tumble during the first quarter, largely due to a 1 billion euro, or $1.1 billion, set-aside to cover legal costs related to its ongoing diesel emissions scandal.

        But at 3.05 billion euros, or $3.41 billion, after-tax profits came in close to last year’s 3.30 billion euros figure from the January-March quarter, with profit margins actually rising across the company’s 12 different automotive brands.

        /about/subscribe
        News You Can Trust!

        It was a “very strong first quarter,” said Chief Financial Officer Frank Witter, and “to an extent better actually better than we expected.”

        But the quarter also showed that the German automaker has yet to fully claw its way out of the mess created when it was revealed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in September 2015 that VW had rigged several of its diesel engines to illegally pass American emissions tests.

        To date, the company has spent about $30 billion to cover fines and settlements in the U.S. alone. Investigations continue in a number of countries, including Germany, where former CEO Martin Winterkorn last month was charged with fraud. Four other former executives also were indicted. Authorities there now claim the scandal, known in Germany as the “Dieselaffare,” was initially conceived in 2006.

        (Click Here for more about VW’s 10-year plan to comeback.)

        VW is also toying with a return to the U.S. market, the Tarok Concept debuting in NY last month.

        The automaker has undergone a number of critical changes since the crisis began to unfold. For one thing, it has now committed over $50 billion to the development of electric vehicles. It has also made a major push into the crossover-utility market, including the three-row Atlas that has helped it reverse several years of declining sales in the big American market.

        Utility vehicles played a significant role in propping up the company’s Q1 earnings, in part because of the higher prices they typically command. Overall, VW saw profit margins on sales jump to 8.1% from just 7.2% a year ago. That exceeded its target range of 6.5 to 7.5 percent.

        The addition of new and updated CUVs, like Atlas and the latest version of the older Tiguan, have helped VW combat competitors like General Motors, Ford and Volkswagen in key markets including the U.S. and China. Meanwhile, the utility vehicles have now grown to account for more than 23% of the German maker’s total unit sales. But it is expecting to see that share grow to 40% by 2020.

        (Tarok Concept hints at VW’s return to U.S. pickup market. Click Here for the story.)

        Former VW CEO Martin Winterkorn was charged by German prosecutors with fraud last month.

        There were a few blemishes on the earnings report, the normally high-profit/high-margin Audi and Porsche brands reporting declines. Sports carmaker Porsche’s earnings were off 12% at 829 million euros, or $926.1 million. Audi, meanwhile, slipped by almost 15% to 1.1 billion euros, or $1.2 billion. Nonetheless, the two brands still contributed about 40% of the entire automotive groups EBIT.

        Meanwhile, earnings before interest and taxes, or EBIT, slipped to 3.9 billion euros, or $4.4 billion, down from 4.2 billion a year earlier. They were, nonetheless, in line with the 3.92 billion euros analysts had been forecasting, even with the added legal costs. Discounting all one-time charges, VW’s EBIT actually rose 14 percent, to 4.8 billion euros, or $5.3 billion.

        (German prosecutors charge former CEO Winterkorn with fraud. Click Here for the story.)

        How to Care for Your Car

        Cheap Car Warranty

        Editor's Choice

        Best Extended Car Warranty

        Editor's Choice
        Recently Published
        ChevyCamaroZL1Welburn01.jpg

        Week Ahead: Chicago … that Toddling Town

        Today

        The Rearview Mirror: Tailfins Take Flight

        Feb. 04, 2023
        2021 Porsche Taycan - charging

        TikTok Reveals the Hottest EVs in the Industry

        Feb. 03, 2023

        Leave a Reply Cancel reply

        Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

        Share this article:
        © The Detroit Bureau 2023
        • Guides
        • Privacy Policy
        • Terms of Use
        • Affiliate Disclosure
        • Contact Us
        • Sitemap
        Follow Us: