FRANKFURT, Dec 6 (Reuters) – Volkswagen Group plans to invest 160 billion euros ($186 billion) through 2030, its CEO Oliver Blume said, reflecting belt-tightening as Europe’s top automakers faces a major crisis in its two key markets, China and the United States.
Total spending, updated annually as part of Volkswagen’s rolling five-year investment plan, compares with 165 billion euros for the 2025-2029 period and 180 billion for 2024-2028, with 2024 being touted as a peak year.
Since then, Volkswagen, which includes the Porsche and Audi brands, has been squeezed by tariffs on U.S. imports and fierce competition in China, hurting profits most notably at the Porsche brand, which sells around half its cars in just these two markets.
Blume told the weekly Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung that the focus in the latest spending plan was “on Germany and Europe,” including in products, technology and infrastructure.
Blume said considerations around a potential U.S. plant for Audi depended on possible substantial financial support by Washington.
While its Porsche brand was not expected to grow in China, he said localising production in the wider Volkswagen group was possible and a Porsche model specifically made for the Chinese market could make sense one day.
($1 = 0.8590 euros)
(Reporting by Christoph SteitzEditing by Bernadette Baum)
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