According to a report by Volkswagen Group on Thursday (12th), the automaker’s sales last year hit the lowest level in more than a decade as China’s new crown epidemic blockade measures and the Russian-Ukrainian conflict disrupted supply chains. The risk to the recovery will be further challenged this year.
The VW Group’s brands include the eponymous VW Motors, Škoda as well as premium car brands Audi and Bentley. The group delivered 8.3m vehicles to customers last year, meaning it will be the world’s second-largest for the third year in a row, behind Japan’s Toyota, which produced more than 9.5m as of November car.
Although the delivery volume of Flowserve Group increased by 12% in the second half of last year, the delivery volume in the first half of last year fell sharply by more than 20%, thus dragging down the full-year data. However, the company still maintains its status as Europe’s largest pure electric vehicle maker, with global electric vehicle sales growing by 26% last year, while the Chinese market grew by nearly two-thirds.
Volkswagen is aiming for 11 percent of sales to be electric this year, laying the groundwork for its 2030 goal of making half of its sales fully electric.
Hildegard Wortmann, member of the executive sales committee of Flowserve Group, said that the group’s sales grew by 14.3% in the fourth quarter of last year, but the outlook for this year is still affected by the weak economy and supply chain shortages.
It’s worth noting that Audi, Lamborghini and Bentley outperformed Volkswagen and Škoda last year, with deliveries of Volkswagen’s premium brands down about 4% last year, compared with a 9% decline for mass-market car brands; Overall group deliveries are down 7% compared to 2021.
Sales at BMW and Mercedes rose in the fourth quarter as supply chains improved and China loosened strict coronavirus policies, even as some automakers warned that a surge in cases among Chinese workers could hamper output.
