Europe's biggest car producer plans to increase its sales to around 8 million units in the medium term, with the figure exceeding the 10 million mark by 2018. Last year, the carmaker sold 6.3 million vehicles, a 1.1 year-to-year increase.
The German group also wants to bring its operating profit margin over the 5% marker for its core automotive business. This does not include 2011’s scheduled Porsche takeover. VW’s 2009 automotive profit margin reached a figure of just 1.6 percent (first nine months of the year).
"The Volkswagen Group is seeking global economic and environmental leadership in the automotive industry by 2018," a company official said while detailing its so-called "Strategy 2018"
"I'm not sure if there's much point in a carmaker fixing objectives for 2018," an analyst was quoted as saying by Reuters. "I understand that carmakers have to look far ahead because they invest in technologies that take several years to develop, but I don't really see the point of a plan for 2018,"
Maybe VW will be able to take advantage of Toyota’s current recall madness which has seriously affected the Japanese company’s image according to studies. However, until now VW has shown fair-play regarding this situation as they did not make any special offer to attract Toyota buyers as GM, Ford, Chrysler and Hyundai did on the U.S. market. Maybe the group’s German origin will generate a more subtle approach...
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