The company expects sales to grow by up to 5% in 2024, after reporting a 15.5% increase last year to 322.3 billion euros ($348.5 billion).

Volkswagen's Chief Financial Officer Arno Antlitz pointed to a "muted economic outlook and intense competition" but said the carmaker was confident for the year as a whole.

Shares in Volkswagen turned negative on the annual results, which included a drop in the operating margin to 7.0% in 2023 from 7.9% in the previous year, and traded 5.7% lower at 1415 GMT.

($1 = 0.9249 euros)

(Reporting by Christoph Steitz, Editing by Rachel More)