Volkswagen must act now to secure competitiveness, the German car group’s controlling families said on Thursday in their clearest message yet to management amid a push to ramp up cost cuts and fend off Chinese rivals.“The Volkswagen Group is at a historic crossroads. For the sake of the company and its sustainable competitiveness, everyone must step up and take responsibility,” said Hans Dieter Poetsch, board chairperson of Porsche, the investment vehicle of the Porsche/Piech car dynasty and Volkswagen’s top shareholder.“The longer decisions are delayed, the bigger the problems will become,” Poetsch said.Porsche finance chief Johannes Lattwein called on the group to reduce excess capacity, significantly lower costs and strengthen decision-making.Porsche reported a 14.5% drop in its adjusted half-year earnings after tax to €949m on Friday.It owns 31.9% in Volkswagen and 12.5% in its sports car subsidiary Porsche.Reuters