Volkswagen Group's car deliveries fell in the first quarter, as growth in Europe failed to offset sharp declines in the United States and China. The German automaker said on Monday that China's auto market has experienced a significant decline, while the U.S. market environment is severe, mainly affected by tariff policies and the expiration of tax incentives for electric and hybrid vehicles.
Volkswagen owns Volkswagen, Audi, Porsche and other brands. The group's overall vehicle delivery volume fell 4% year-on-year to 2.05 million vehicles.
Marco Schubert, a member of the Group Sales Management Committee, said: "In the first quarter of 2026, the global economic and geopolitical environment will remain extremely challenging."
Volkswagen's deliveries in China fell 15% year-on-year to 548,700 vehicles, but the company said its market share increased slightly.
In the U.S. market, deliveries fell 21% year-on-year.
"As of the end of March, the global automotive market was in overall decline. The overall decline in the Chinese and American markets also affected our delivery volumes," Schubert said.
Globally, the group's pure electric vehicle deliveries fell 7.7% year-on-year to 200,000 vehicles, with Europe being the only region to post growth. Volkswagen said it remains the absolute market leader in Europe, with its market share in Western Europe rising to 20%.
Affected by the end of tariffs and government subsidies, Volkswagen's delivery volume of pure electric models in the United States plummeted by 80%; in the Chinese market, the delivery volume of pure electric models fell by 64%. The group is currently preparing to launch a number of new electric models developed for the Chinese market.
Schubert said: "In the coming months, we expect that key new products such as Europe's pure electric city model series and new locally developed electric models in China will bring more growth momentum."
Global demand for new generation plug-in hybrid models with longer pure electric range continues to rise. At the same time, new models of various power types from Volkswagen, Seat Cupra, Skoda, Audi, Porsche and other brands are also driving up order volumes. The order volume of fully powered models increased by 3% year-on-year, and the order volume of pure electric models increased by 4% year-on-year.
The company added that although the conflict in the Middle East resulted in supply disruptions in directly affected markets, it did not have a significant impact on the group's overall delivery volume.