Portuguese VW Employees Go on Strike

We really don't think that this is what Volkswagen hopes to hear while struggling to become the world's number one carmaker, but its Portuguese employees went on strike yesterday to protest against the local government's austerity measures. The national strike affected most of the Volkswagen's Autoeuropa production facility, which is currently the biggest exporter in the country, with a single department in charge of repairs still in operation.

"The production line is completely shut, so we expect that no cars will be produced today," said Autoeuropa union coordinator Carlos Chora according to just-auto.com. "There is a picket line outside, but they are letting people in and out," he added.

Meanwhile, Volkswagen tries to continue its ambitious plan to become the number one carmaker in the world by 2018, mostly because the figures posted last and this year demonstrate that such a goal is easily achievable.

The German company delivered in the January 2010 - September 2010 period 5.4 million vehicles, or 12.9 percent as compared to the same period of the last year (remember though that even VW's sales were hit in 2009 by the recession). Volkswagen’s global market share climbed well over a percentage point to 11.6 percent.

"We continued our extremely successful business growth in the first three quarters and are therefore well-positioned to achieve the goals laid down in our Strategy 2018," said Martin Winterkorn, Volkswagen chairman of the board.

“Increased demand for our Group models and our disciplined cost management led to these strong results, which have strengthened our sound financial base," added Hans Dieter Potsch, the company's CFO.