Volkswagen is in financial trouble! “The roof is on fire,” said the CEO

Volkswagen boss Thomas Schäfer made no secret of it in a speech to around two thousand managers. “We’ve allowed the costs to get too high in many areas,” he warned. Therefore, there must be an immediate halt to spending.

“Everything is at stake,” said Schäfer, “the roof is already on fire.” According to him, the coming weeks will be very difficult for Volkswagen and demands “small successes” from its managers.

Volkswagen is investing billions in EV technology

Volkswagen wants to become the largest provider of electric cars and that requires investments in the tens of billions. Schäfer will try to keep costs under control with an austerity program that should save 10 billion euros over the next three years.

Chief Financial Officer: “Our auto industry is not healthy”

“Our processes and structures are still too complex, slow and inflexible,” said Schäfer to his audience. His CFO Patrik Andreas Mayer even said: “Our automotive business is not healthy. This is our final warning.”

Investments in fuel engines remain necessary

An additional problem for Volkswagen – and other manufacturers as well – is that it must continue to invest heavily in its internal combustion engines. Because the emission regulations for this are becoming ever stricter.

VW sales in China are falling very sharply

Volkswagen is also affected by the situation in China, the company’s largest market, where buyers are increasingly shunning Western brands and opting for home-built cars. In order to remain competitive in the Asian country, the manufacturer is selling more and more models at a discount.