Berlin (Reuters) - Volkswagen is preparing for a declining market share in China.

"In the current environment, we expect our market share in China to decrease due to the faster growing electric car market," CFO Arno Antlitz told the Reuters news agency. The company has initiated measures to significantly improve its competitiveness. "Until then, we do not expect market shares to increase in the next two years, rather the opposite." Profitability is a priority for Volkswagen and this is a conscious decision, Antlitz emphasized.

Volkswagen wants to catch up from 2026 with its own electric car platform and a collaboration with the Chinese manufacturer Xpeng. "Our ambition is to remain the largest international car manufacturer in China," said Antlitz. VW is under pressure in the electric car market in China in particular and had to cede market leadership to Chinese electric car manufacturer BYD in 2023 after several decades.

Antlitz does not expect significant growth in the European car market either. In the medium term, Volkswagen plans to maintain the current sales level. "We are gearing our capacities towards this," added the CFO. According to the industry association VDA, a good 12.8 million new vehicles were registered on the European market including the UK in 2023, 14 percent more than in the previous year. However, in 2019, before the coronavirus pandemic, this figure was around a fifth higher.

By contrast, Antlitz sees growth opportunities primarily in the USA and is focusing on the new Scout commercial vehicle brand. For a long time, VW did not have the economies of scale required for strong growth in the USA, he said. "But now the market is turning towards electromobility. This is our opportunity." With the Scout, VW has a very attractive project to enter "one of the most interesting segments in the USA".

An off-road pick-up and an SUV are to be launched on the market under the brand. Prototypes are planned for this year. According to initial sketches, the design of the vehicles is reminiscent of the old Scout models that were sold on the US market in the 1960s and 1970s. The Scout brand rights were transferred to Volkswagen in 2020 when the US truck manufacturer Navistar was acquired by VW's commercial vehicle subsidiary Traton.

(Report by Christina Amann; edited by Sabine Wollrab. If you have any questions, please contact our editorial team at Berlin.Newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for politics and the economy) or Frankfurt.Newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for companies and markets)