Volkswagen Zukunftsplan 2030: the new blood and tears plan to save the accounts

Volkswagen has officially launched the so-called "Zukunftsplan 2030", a radical restructuring plan aimed at raising the group's operating margins to a target of 9% by the end of the decade.

The restructuring maneuver aims to drastically simplify the offering: by 2035, the range of vehicles will be halved, going from about 150 current models to 75, while reducing equipment variants by up to 75%. The objective is to reduce production complexity and concentrate resources on the most profitable market segments.

A drastic slimming treatment to align production with global demand.

The resizing also affects global production capacity. VW aims to stabilize annual production around 9 million units, compared to the 12 million expected pre-pandemic. The group has already dismantled lines for about 2 million cars, and further adjustments will particularly affect factories in Europe and China. The financial tightening is equally severe: investments for the five years 2027-2031 will drop from €180 billion to €135 billion, a contraction deemed necessary by CFO Arno Antlitz due to an unsustainable geopolitical and economic scenario for the previous efficiency models.

Despite the cash injection of €7.4 billion from the sale of the Everllence division, internal tensions remain at historic highs. Daniela Cavallo, chair of the works council, has imposed an ultimatum on CEO Oliver Blume, demanding binding guarantees on the security of production sites. Rumors suggest a real risk for German plants in Hannover, Emden, Zwickau, and Neckarsulm, with employment repercussions that could involve up to 100,000 workers.

The State of Lower Saxony, which holds 20% of the shares, has already expressed strong opposition to any plant closures.

The situation at Volkswagen remains critical from a commercial perspective as well. In the first half, the namesake brand saw global sales contract by 4%, with a more marked decline for Porsche, which recorded a -16%. The stock continues to suffer, hovering near 52-week lows and showing a loss of about one third of its value since the beginning of the year. Analyst pressure is increasing, especially concerning the Chinese market, where the sharp drop in demand continues to weigh decisively on quarterly balances.

While management announces plans to leverage artificial intelligence and digitalization to accelerate internal processes, the lack of details on the timing and location of the savings plan leaves room for significant uncertainties. The true test will come in the coming weeks, when the company must clarify how it intends to manage potential staff redundancies and industrial conversion without triggering further conflicts with trade unions and local politics.