Volkswagen posts 14% drop in first-quarter profit on tariff pressure, China competition

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German auto giant Volkswagen

on Thursday reported weaker-than-expected first-quarter profit, citing higher U.S. tariffs and intensifying competition from Chinese car brands.

Europe’s biggest carmaker posted operating profit of 2.5 billion euros ($2.92 billion) for the first three months of the year, down 14.3% from a year ago and missing analyst expectations of nearly 4 billion euros, according to an LSEG-compiled consensus.

Sales revenue came in at 75.66 billion euros, down 2.5% from the same period in 2025. Analysts had expected this figure to come in at 75.45 billion euros.