Volkswagen is determined to achieve a 6.5 percent return on sales by 2026 to to fund its future, and that will mean cutting low-volume models like the Arteon
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Volkswagen has made a firm commitment to prioritize revenue growth to support its investments in future technology. As part of this strategy, the company intends to streamline its lineup by reducing complexity, which unfortunately includes discontinuing the Arteon model.
The automaker announced the new measures at its works meeting in Wolfsburg today. Dubbed “Accelerate Forward | Road to 6.5,” the performance program’s main goal is to achieve a return on sales of 6.5 percent and to improve earnings to €10 billion ($10.83 billion USD at current exchange rates) by 2026.
“The program is the number one priority for the entire Board of Management,” said CEO Thomas Schäfer. “Achieving this in 2026 is very ambitious, but feasible if we pool our efforts. This will enable us to safeguard jobs, finance our future from our own resources and continue to invest in new vehicles and technologies, in the modernization of our plants and in staff training.”
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VW is clear that this will require the implementation of a number of money-saving efforts in its administration, R&D, material costs, vehicle construction, and its product offerings. The program is being led by a Project Management Office that is in the process of being set up, and will avoid cutting wages or initiating layoffs, according to Daniela Cavallo, the chairwoman of the General Works Council.
For customers, that will mean fewer vehicles and options from the VW brand. The automaker wants to reduce the number of variants it offers, cut red tape, and optimize the yield of its MQB (internal combustion) and MEB (electric) platforms.
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That will mean cutting low-volume models like the Arteon, and focusing on core vehicles, Schäfer said. Although previous reports suggested that it would be replaced by the likes of the ID.7 sedan, the executive has officially put the final nail in the coffin of the sleek, internal combustion sedan.
In addition, VW will reduce the number of configuration options for its vehicles. For instance, the ID.7 will have 99 percent fewer options than the seventh-generation Golf had.
The project management office will lay out all of the measures it plans to implement as part of this program in September, and it is expected to go into full swing by October 2023.
