Volkswagen Remains Bullish on 2022 Outlook

Volkswagen stuck to its outlook for 2022 in a recent earnings call, amid supply chain disruptions caused by the war in Ukraine and the pandemic.

“We used our position as a truly global company to balance production across our markets and relieve pressure where there were supply issues and product shortages,” CEO Herbert Diess told journalists.

“For example, when we had to cut back production in Europe due to a lack of wiring harnesses and in some areas had to shut down plants, we sent the semiconductors we didn’t need to other regions.”

Volkswagen forecasts its sales will rise 8%-13%, an operating profit margin of 7.0%-8.5% and an increase in deliveries of 5-10% in 2022, pointing to its global set-up that allows it to prioritize regions and high-margin products.

Geopolitical concerns still temper the automaker’s enthusiasm somewhat. Diess told journalists the uncertainty due to the conflict in Ukraine and the pandemic make it difficult to foresee the full impact further deterioration of these situations would have.

Volkswagen also said it expected the chip supply to improve in the second half of the year.

The company reported sales of 62.7 billion euros ($66 billion) for the first three months of the year, up 0.6% year on year.