Volkswagen, Europe's biggest car maker, has said it is still making a profit despite the global economic crisis. But it said it was cautious about future prospects.
VW recorded a second-quarter net profit of €283m, a huge drop of 83% from the same period a year earlier. First-half net profit was off by 81% at €494m on sales that fell by 9.4% to €51.2 billion.
The group delivered a total of 3.1 million vehicles in the six-month period, down 5%. It reiterated a full-year forecast of a drop in net profit and sales compared with 2008, but did not give detailed figures.
'The high volatility of market developments does not permit any reliable forecasts to be made for the rest of fiscal year 2009,' VW said.
Operating profit in the six months to June slumped 63.9% to €1.24 billion, but VW fared better than rivals, including Toyota. Deliveries of vehicles to its core German, Chinese and Brazilian markets even surpassed the figures of a year earlier, the company said, owing in part to government subsidies that will taper off later this year.
VW has just managed to ward off a takeover attempt by luxury sports car maker Porsche, its biggest shareholder, and is now working to integrate Porsche as its 10th brand.
Renault now expects smaller sales drop
In France, Renault reported a first-half net loss of €2.71 billion as sales slumped 23.7% to €15.99 billion.
But it raised its forecast for global car industry sales this year to more than 57 million vehicles, representing a fall of 12% from 2008. This compared with its previous estimate for a downturn of 15%.
In Europe, the market 'should improve over the second half of the year to show a fall of 8%,' it said.
