Volkswagen's Q3 2026 Loss Hits €5.9 Billion (Thanks, Porsche)

Volkswagen sells Golfs, Audis, Porsches and Lamborghinis on every continent. And this summer, it somehow managed to lose almost 6 billion euros doing it.

On October 29, 2026, the Volkswagen Group reported a Q3 2026 operating loss of €5.9 billion, its worst quarter in more than a decade. Analysts had expected a loss of about €2.6 billion. A year earlier, the loss was €1.3 billion.

So the experts were off by more than double. That's your weather app promising light rain and handing you a hurricane.

Most of the damage has one name: Porsche. Volkswagen says its special charges this year reached €8.7 billion, €7.8 billion of them in the third quarter, led by a €6.4 billion write-down on its sports car brand.

In plain words, Volkswagen looked at Porsche and admitted it's worth a lot less than it thought. Porsche's year has been messy ever since its breakup with Rimac, and now the parent company is paying the bill.

Then there's China. Volkswagen's deliveries there fell about 30% in the first nine months. US tariffs are expected to cost it around €2.8 billion this year too.

Put it all together and you get this: according to Volkswagen, revenue for the first nine months was €233.4 billion. Operating profit was €71 million.

A margin so thin you could slide it under a door.

"We cannot afford to lose any time," finance chief Arno Antlitz said.

He's right, but I don't think people stopped wanting Volkswagens. Orders in Europe actually went up 4% to 3 million cars, and around 150,000 people have already ordered its new small electric cars. Volkswagen doesn't have a demand problem. It has a cost problem.

But careful: fixing that is going to hurt. CEO Oliver Blume's plan reportedly includes 100,000 job cuts across the group, Audi and Porsche included, and up to four German factories could close. The unions are furious, and strikes are possible early next year. Wage talks with the IG Metall union start on November 24 in Emden.

The company still expects a profit margin of up to 1% for the whole year. That's the good scenario.

5.9 million cars sold in nine months, about €12 of profit on each one. At this point, Volkswagen would make more money washing them.

Photo: Volkswagen Group