The deliveries of the first European car manufacturer Volkswagen in the United States have decreased significantly in the first half, the consequences of the first save of Donald Trump’s customs tasks that weaken German manufacturers who are already in difficulties in China. In the first half, group deliveries at 10 car brands (including Audi, Skoda, Seat and Porsche) fell 6.7% for a year in North America, their third market, with 461,900 units.
Between April and June, in the heart of Donald Trump’s ads, annual deliveries even collapsed at 16.2%, completely erasing profits in the first quarter. However, the Wolfsburg manufacturer sees that its general sales volume increased by 1.3% in the first half, because “profits in South America and Europe have compensated the expected decreases in China and North America,” says a press release on Wednesday.
25% Customs Tasks for Automobiles
Donald Trump has already established 25% of customs duties in the car, a vital sector for the German industry in crisis, which still hopes to obtain concessions from the US president. Paradoxically, Washington’s commercial policy benefited Porsche in the first half, with the deliveries to the United States by 10% compared to last year in the same period. The increase in customs tasks has provided a certain “protection” to the Volkswagen group brand, which also claims to have a “greater availability of goods” in its most important market.
On the Mercedes-Benz side, customs duties have also led to a collapse of car deliveries (-12%) and trucks (-26%) in the United States in the second quarter, in the annual shift. This fall in exchanges with automotive concessionaires, “carefully calibrated to take into account the new tariff policies,” according to a press release published on Monday, does not reflect the solid demand of US consumers on the site, he assures the Stuttgart group.
Throughout the Atlantic, deliveries to customers increased by 26% in the second quarter, according to Mercedes. However, Mercedes-Benz’s global deliveries fell 9%, particularly weakened in China in the car segment (-19%) as trucks (-37%). The loss of competitiveness of German players in the Chinese market, a long engine of their growth, is also confirmed for the Volkswagen Group, with a drop in deliveries of 2.3% in the first half, including a 28% drop for Porsche sports cars.
Source: BFM TV
