Recently, Volkswagen Group announced its operations in 2020. Affected by the epidemic, Volkswagen's profit was almost halved last year, but thanks to the strong rebound in the Chinese market, Volkswagen still achieved profitability. The detailed data of the group for 2020 is expected to be released on March 16.

    According to data released by Volkswagen, after excluding costs related to the "emission gate", Volkswagen's operating profit in 2020 was 10 billion euros (12.2 billion US dollars), compared with 19.3 billion euros in 2019. On the other hand, Volkswagen will face a fine of more than 100 million euros for failing to meet the carbon dioxide emission targets set by the European Union for passenger cars.

    In fact, this is still much better than expected. Prior to this, analysts at Refinitiv Eikon estimated that Volkswagen’s operating profit in 2020 was only 4.8 billion euros.

    Volkswagen said in a statement that the net cash flow of its automotive division was approximately 6 billion euros, and that car deliveries had increased by the end of the year. Jefferies analysts said in a report: "Volkswagen's operating conditions are encouraging for the industry's upcoming full-year results."

    The release of the data brought an end to the turbulent 2020 for Volkswagen and the automotive industry. After Volkswagen announced its earnings report on Friday, its stock price hit its highest level in 11 months. In afternoon trading, the stock rose 2.7% to 166.4 euros.

    Porsche said that due to Volkswagen's performance, the company may achieve significant positive profit after tax in 2020. As the majority shareholder of Volkswagen, Porsche Automobile Holding SE (Porsche Automobile Holding SE) holds 31.4% of its shares and 53.1% of the voting rights.

    At the same time, the adjusted full-year operating profit of Volkswagen’s truck manufacturing unit Traton SE reached 135 million euros, which was much higher than analysts’ previously predicted loss of 625 million euros. Traton said its sales "continued a strong recovery in the fourth quarter." According to data from the European Automobile Manufacturers Association, Volkswagen's sales in December last year increased by 1.7%, while the number of new car registrations in Europe fell by nearly 4% in the same period.

    However, Volkswagen and its competitors will still face severe challenges brought about by the epidemic, including the shortage of automotive chips worldwide, and the continued closure of multiple regional markets in response to the epidemic-which means that 2021 will be another difficult year Of the year.

    On the other hand, Volkswagen is also facing fierce competition in the development of electric vehicles and autonomous vehicles. Fiat Chrysler merged with PSA PSA to create Stellattis, the world's fourth-largest automaker, which also increased the competitive pressure on Volkswagen.