Despite falling deliveries, the Volkswagen Group achieves the highest profits for 10 years in the 1st half of 2022, thanks to aftermarket and second-hand.
The Volkswagen group (VW, VW Commercial Vehicles, Audi, Skoda, Seat/Cupra) achieves substantial profits in the first 6 months of the year despite a sharp drop in new car deliveries on the French market (-17%, i.e. 772,000 cars sold, all brands combined). If it pulls out of the game, it is in particular thanks to the excellent performance of the network in the field of maintenance, which makes 35% of the profits, and second-hand (28%). What compensate for a slight drop in its market share of the group on tricolor soil (-1.5 points to 12.2%).
In detail, the Volkswagen brand sees its market share decline by 0.6 points (6.1% of sales in France) when Skoda manages to limit damage (-0.1 point) by arrogating 1.9% of French sales.
The second-hand market, which is booming as the semiconductor crisis and the war in Ukraine slow down transactions on new items, represents a substantial share of the group’s income. Moreover, distributors no longer hesitate to obtain used vehicles from large centers such as Le Bon Coin and La Centrale to meet the strong demand.
Rising car prices
The other growth lever of the Volkswagen group is the increase in the prices of new vehicles. 6% inflation driven by the higher margins promised by more expensive models. Thus, the average price of a VW group car goes from €31,000 in 2021 to €32,800 this year. A trend that should continue with the disappearance of entry-level models and smaller vehicles, even at Skoda and Seat / Cupra.
In addition, to limit waiting times, the brands of the VW group have begun to simplify their ranges. Clearly, they favor the manufacture of volume models, fairly well equipped, with the aim of satisfying a maximum of customers who are reluctant to wait. Thus, at Audi, 50% of cars were sold from stock in the first 6 months. For customers who are fussy about options, the deadlines are necessarily higher.
