Volkswagen said Friday that net profit fell by a third in the second quarter as the crisis-hit carmaker -- weighing up to 100,000 job cuts worldwide -- grappled with increasing competition in and from China.
Net profit for the three months to the end of June came in at 1.54 billion euros, the 10-brand group said, a fall of 32.9 percent on the same period last year.
The result was hit by a 500-million-euro charge for stopping US production of its electric ID.4, Volkswagen said, as well as "negative mix effects", meaning the automotive giant sold more lower-margin products.
VW, which in addition to its own brand also makes Lamborghini, Audi, Skoda and Porsche, also cut its guidance for the year, saying it now saw sales flat or falling up to three percent. It previously expected growth of up to three percent.
On the Frankfurt stock exchange, Volkswagen shares opened down almost 2.4 percent before paring back some losses to be down 1.6 percent as of 0935 GMT.
