Volkswagen Running out of Cash?

[mackinaw]

Interesting article on today's Autoline Daily:

 

"It almost sounds hard to believe but Volkswagen, which generated €347 billion in revenue last year, is running out of cash. The situation is so dire that its supervisory board just slammed the brakes on any capital investments for the rest of the year. VW is short on investments it has to pay off next year by about €11 billion and the board is practically looking under the couch cushions for spare change. In its Q3 filings, VW reported that it generated zero free cash flow this year, which is what management usually likes to tap to fund investments. All this has got analysts talking about the need for VW to sell off non-core assets, and that makes us wonder if Scout could be in trouble?"

[Sherminator98]

I just saw a headline on Autonews that Audi was looking at the Scout platform to make a Range Rover Fighter 

[Dequindre]

Although it's probably a small portion of its overall global revenue, I cannot believe how out of touch the Volkswagen brand is with the North American market. Audi seems to do well here, but Volkswagen is constantly missing the mark. 

[ice-capades]

12 hours ago, Dequindre said:

Although it's probably a small portion of its overall global revenue, I cannot believe how out of touch the Volkswagen brand is with the North American market. Audi seems to do well here, but Volkswagen is constantly missing the mark. 

 

From what I've seen, VW hasn't done well in Norh America for decades. 

[rmc523]

can we fix the "o" to an "e" in the title?    It's driving me nuts haha

[Sherminator98]

8 minutes ago, rmc523 said:

can we fix the "o" to an "e" in the title?    It's driving me nuts haha

 

Fixed it! 

[Sherminator98]

13 hours ago, Dequindre said:

Although it's probably a small portion of its overall global revenue, I cannot believe how out of touch the Volkswagen brand is with the North American market. Audi seems to do well here, but Volkswagen is constantly missing the mark. 

 

13 minutes ago, ice-capades said:

 

From what I've seen, VW hasn't done well in Norh America for decades. 

 

It boils down to that VW product from the EU isn't as appealing as people would make you think it would be. 

 

The market for compact hatchbacks isn't there anymore and their CUV offerings seem to be also rans in the NA market vs everyone else. 

 

VW has had some creative advertising over the years but i can't recall seeing anything worthwhile in like 10-15 years either. 

[rmc523]

36 minutes ago, Sherminator98 said:

 

Fixed it! 

 

Gracias!

[akirby]

It’s mind boggling how Porsche is not rolling in cash considering the pricing of 911s and Panamera especially the GT3 and turbo models and the GTS and GT4 cayman, boxster, Macan and Cayenne.  I know Taycan was a flop and they stopped selling the boxster/cayman last year in Europe but still…Their internal costs must be worse than Ford.

[GearheadGrrrl]

Much of VW Groups's problems are they bet too heavily on EVs assuming that was the only way forward. VW is sleepwalking in North America, rebating generic SUVs while keeping a too tight supply of Golf Rs that enthusiasts want. Audi is wide awake and self harming, killing off most all the models that made Audi and substituting bloated failures like the A5. Porsche? Drunk on the EV Koolaid and killed off the aspirational mid engine sports car. 911 is an old mans sports car and should be programmed into the ICE for the car's demographic, electrifying the Macan didn't help, and good thing they don't share many showrooms with Audi anymore. Only bright stars are the trucks, Scania is taking leadership role and their technology transfers to International with the vast dealer network will be a profitable investment.

[Dequindre]

12 hours ago, Sherminator98 said:

 

 

It boils down to that VW product from the EU isn't as appealing as people would make you think it would be. 

 

The market for compact hatchbacks isn't there anymore and their CUV offerings seem to be also rans in the NA market vs everyone else. 

 

VW has had some creative advertising over the years but i can't recall seeing anything worthwhile in like 10-15 years either. 

I get Volkswagens as work rentals every once in a while, and none of them excel in any particular area. The last Atlas that I rented had VERY hard, uncomfortable seats (definitely harder than most American consumers are used to). The last Jetta that I rented had a very plasticky interior with an anemic powertrain. If Volkswagen thinks they're helping their image by selling vehicles into rental fleets, they're definitely not...

[Sherminator98]

10 hours ago, Dequindre said:

I get Volkswagens as work rentals every once in a while, and none of them excel in any particular area. The last Atlas that I rented had VERY hard, uncomfortable seats (definitely harder than most American consumers are used to). The last Jetta that I rented had a very plasticky interior with an anemic powertrain. If Volkswagen thinks they're helping their image by selling vehicles into rental fleets, they're definitely not...

 

About 20 years ago I had an accident with my Mustang GT and it was tied up getting repaired for about 5-6 weeks.

 

During that time I went through about 3-4 rentals-Started with a Chevy Sonic (or whatever was the smallest Chevy at that time), something else I don't remember and then I got a Dodge Caliber (it had a the worst dash I've ever seen-it was the same texture as an igloo cooler top) that got sold, then winded up in a new VW Jetta that was actually pretty nice, even with the DCT it had.

[rmc523]

21 hours ago, akirby said:

It’s mind boggling how Porsche is not rolling in cash considering the pricing of 911s and Panamera especially the GT3 and turbo models and the GTS and GT4 cayman, boxster, Macan and Cayenne.  I know Taycan was a flop and they stopped selling the boxster/cayman last year in Europe but still…Their internal costs must be worse than Ford.

 

1) Just because VW is in trouble doesn't mean Porsche is

2) Isn't Porsche at least partially independent?

3) Porsche jumped too far into EVs, and Macan sales are reportedly way down with the EV switch.

[akirby]

1 minute ago, rmc523 said:

 

1) Just because VW is in trouble doesn't mean Porsche is

2) Isn't Porsche at least partially independent?

3) Porsche jumped too far into EVs, and Macan sales are reportedly way down with the EV switch.

I was referring specifically to Porsche AG which has been performing poorly for awhile even before Macan EV.

[Lifesaver]

Not too surprised, honestly. VW hasn’t been making the right moves in the U.S. market for years, boring lineups, weak marketing, and they totally missed the CUV craze. And now with EVs eating up capital and not selling like expected, it’s all catching up to them.