Car industry VW Commercial Vehicles: Second half of the year will be challenging

In the first half of the year, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles still shone with strong growth within the Group. But the second half of the year is likely to be more difficult, warns the brand boss.

After a strong first half of the year, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles (VWN) is expecting a noticeable headwind for the rest of the year. "We are aware that many markets are currently cooling down," said brand boss Carsten Intra at the IAA Transportation commercial vehicle trade fair in Hanover. "The second half of the year will be challenging."

In the first six months, VWN had increased deliveries by 11.5 percent, the adjusted operating profit rose by 43 percent to 641 million euros and the operating return on sales to 7.9 percent. Sales were driven primarily by the T6.1 van, which was discontinued at the end of June and for which an unusually high number of orders had previously been received.

Deliveries of its successor, the New Transporter, which celebrated its world premiere at the IAA Transportation, are due to start at the end of the year. There have already been more than 10,000 orders for the vehicle since August, said Sales Director Lars Krause. The new van was developed together with Ford and will also be built at Ford's Turkish plant.