Due to the strained situation in the worldwide supply chain, especially for semiconductors, the positive development of the first half of the year lost some of its momentum at Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles (VWCV) in the months that followed. In the first nine months of the year a total of around 286,500 vehicles were delivered to customers, a growth of 5.3 per cent compared with the same period last year. Sales revenue reached 7.3 billion euros (previous year 6.7 billion euros); the operating result stood at 55 million euros after nine months (previous year: -362 million euros). “In the third quarter of 2021, the situation on the supplier market became much more difficult, which meant that we were not able to continue the positive trend in vehicle deliveries of the first half of the year. However, our customers’ great trust in our vehicles is shown by the fact that incoming orders increased by 28.8 per cent compared with the same period last year. We at the Volkswagen Group are working together to close this gap in our customers’ interests. However, the delivery times for most of our models will continue to be longer than usual until far into next year”, says Lars Krause, Board Member responsible for Sales and Marketing at VWCV.
After nine months, deliveries of the T series had increased by 31.7 per cent compared with the previous year: a total of just under 132,900 vehicles were delivered to customers. Deliveries of the Crafter also increased by 17.4 per cent compared to the prior-year period to a total of just under 49,000 vehicles. In addition to the van solutions, the camping versions of the California series are particularly popular with both vehicles: Deliveries of the California 6.1 increased by 35.8 per cent and of the Grand California by 52.3 per cent. After its model change to the new generation, the Caddy was affected by challenging supply chains and deliveries to customers fell by 21.5 per cent to a total of 69,300 units. This model based on the MQB was particularly impacted by the semiconductor shortage.
“Thanks to our cost-cutting programme launched last year and the strong used car business the negative volume effects from the semiconductor crisis were more than compensated. We are confident that this development will also be reflected in the result for the full year 2021,” says Michael Obrowski, Member of the Brand Board of Management responsible for Finance and IT at VWCV.