{
  "id": 8647509,
  "title": "Volkswagen, Mercedes and BMW lose ground against global rivals",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/20/volkswagen-mercedes-and-bmw-lose-ground-against-global-rivals",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-09-20T07:17:35.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "New Straits Times",
    "slug": "new-straits-times",
    "url": "https://www.nst.com.my/business/corporate/2026/09/1536904/volkswagen-mercedes-and-bmw-lose-ground-against-global-rivals"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "In the first half of the year, Germany's three largest carmakers—Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, and BMW—continued to lag behind international rivals, according to a report by consultancy EY. The combined revenue of these German manufacturers fell by 2.9 percent, to approximately €284 billion, compared to the previous year. In contrast, the 19 other international automotive groups examined by EY saw their combined revenue increase by 3.6 percent, reaching just under €1.048 trillion.\n\nThis marks the third year in a row that the German manufacturers have experienced a decline in first-half revenue. In the corporate ranking, the three German groups occupied positions 16, 17, and 19, indicating a significant drop. Tesla emerged as the top performer, followed by Suzuki and Geely.\n\nThe weakness of the German automotive industry is also evident in the profits of these companies. The earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) for the German carmakers fell by 19 percent to €13 billion in the first half of the year. This is the lowest figure since the pandemic year of 2020.\n\nWhile the German carmakers remained well ahead of manufacturers from other countries in absolute terms, the decline in performance is a cause for concern. Manufacturers from China experienced a 21.9 percent decrease, and those from Japan saw a 36.5 percent decline. In contrast, US manufacturers Ford, General Motors, and Tesla recorded a growth of 32.9 percent.",
  "summary": "STUTTGART: Germany’s three largest carmakers continued to lose ground to international rivals in the first half of the year, according to an analysis by consultancy EY, reported German Press Agency (dpa).",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}