Berlin, Germany — German auto giant Volkswagen said Friday an increase in sales in North America and Europe had lifted its operating profits in 2023.
The figure, closely watched by analysts to assess a company’s underlying performance, rose to 22.6 billion euros ($24.4 billion), up 2.1 percent on 2022.
The results were carried by a roughly 15-percent increase in revenues on the previous year, up to 322.3 billion euros on the back of “increased deliveries in Europe and North America”, according to the group.
In all, Volkswagen delivered some 9.2 million cars to customers in 2023, an improvement of 12 percent.
The auto giant’s units sold rose by 20 percent in Europe and in the North America region by 18 percent.
In China, Volkswagen’s single largest market, the group recorded a two-percent increase in deliveries “despite a difficult market”.
Volkswagen has fallen behind domestic competitors in China, losing its title as the best-selling auto brand to BYD.
The Chinese rival’s success making electric cars has likewise underlined the challenges Volkswagen faces when it comes to shifting production away from traditional internal combustion engines.
Volkswagen CEO Oliver Blume said in a statement that 2023 had been an “important year” for the group as he guided the group’s new strategy.
Blume last year identified China and the United States as the key markets for Volkswagen to grow in, while looking to gradually increase profit margins.
The 2023 figures showed that Volkswagen had gained “robustness”, CFO Arno Antlitz said in the statement.
“Our flexibility is our strength: We will continue to invest in the electrification and digitalisation of our product range, while keeping our combustion vehicles competitive during the transition,” Antlitz said.
Volkswagen sold 771,000 battery-powered cars in 2023, 35 percent more than the previous year, but still only 8.3 percent of the group’s total sales.
Looking ahead, the German auto giant hoped to see revenues rise by up to five percent in 2024.
The weakness of the global economy, increasing competition and volatile prices for raw materials and “stricter emissions-related requirements” were among the headwinds facing Volkswagen in the year ahead, the group said.
