Volkswagen
Europe’s largest carmaker, from the Golf to the Porsche.
52-week range
As of 5 Oct 2026, 17:35What does Volkswagen do?
Wolfsburg-based Volkswagen is a group of many brands: VW, Škoda, Seat and Cupra, Audi, Lamborghini, Bentley, Porsche, plus MAN and Scania trucks and buses. It also runs a large banking and leasing arm. The Porsche and Piëch families and the German state of Lower Saxony have a lot of influence. The preferred shares are the ones mainly traded on the stock market.
Golf, Polo, Škoda Octavia, Audi A4 or a MAN bus: no carmaker sells more new cars in Germany than Volkswagen.
How Volkswagen makes money
- Volume brands (VW, Škoda, Seat/Cupra)42 %
- Premium (Audi, Bentley, Lamborghini)19 %
- Financing & leasing18 %
- Trucks & buses (Traton)12 %
- Porsche9 %
Strengths
- Huge scale: around 9 million vehicles a year lowers the cost per car.
- Many brands for almost every budget, from small cars to sports cars.
- The market leader for electric cars in Europe in 2025, with a share of around 27%.
Risks
- Operating profit more than halved in 2025, partly due to US tariffs and problems at Porsche.
- In China, long its most important market, sales are falling as local carmakers catch up fast.
- High costs in Germany: the VW brand plans to cut more than 35,000 jobs there by 2030.
- Founded
- 1937
- Headquarters
- Wolfsburg, Germany
- Employees
- about 663,000
What if you had invested in Volkswagen earlier?
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This page explains the company and is not a recommendation to buy or sell.