Volkswagen Q3 deliveries drop 14.3% on China weakness; Traton gains on U.S. demand

Volkswagen's global deliveries fell by 14.3% in the third quarter, resulting in a total of 1.89 million vehicles sold, primarily due to a decline in demand in China. The largest market for Volkswagen saw deliveries drop by 38.5% compared to this time last year. The decline was also 30.2% since January, and a 5.8% decrease in North America and a 2.8% drop in Western Europe.

However, there was a slight increase in Central and Eastern Europe, with sales up by 1.4%. Despite these challenges, Volkswagen's shares rose by more than 1% in early trading on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.

Traton, a subsidiary of Volkswagen, experienced a 10% increase in unit sales, reaching 78,900 vehicles, following a 4% growth in the previous quarter. This was further amplified by a strong recovery in demand for International Motors, Traton's U.S. brand, which saw a 48% jump to 19,900 trucks. The company attributed this growth to the strong customer demand and cited a government-backed loan program in Brazil as a contributing factor.

Scania, another Traton brand, saw a 3% increase, while MAN declined by 1%. MAN and Volkswagen Truck & Bus both saw a slight fall of 1%. All-electric unit sales for Traton fell by 6% to 770.