Global deliveries reach 6.01 million units from January to September, down 9% year on year; European BEV order backlog doubles

[Reuters]
[Reuters]

Volkswagen Group delivered about 6.01 million vehicles globally in the first nine months of this year, the automaker said Tuesday, down 9 percent from about 6.6 million units in the same period last year.

Growth in South America (up 4 percent), Western Europe (up 1 percent), and Central and Eastern Europe (up 5 percent) was outweighed by sharp declines in China (down 30 percent) and North America (down 4 percent).

In its home market of Europe, the shift toward battery electric vehicles gained momentum. The group attributed the trend to rising fuel prices and an expanded lineup of entry-level models.

Global BEV deliveries through the end of September totaled 678,700 units, down 5 percent from 717,700 units a year earlier. The third-quarter growth rate in Europe, however, rose to 20 percent.

New BEV orders in Europe in the third quarter surged more than 60 percent year on year. A range of recently launched urban electric vehicles — the Volkswagen ID. Polo, ID. Cross, Skoda Epiq and Cupra Raval — have together drawn about 150,000 orders, drawing wide interest from customers.

Total new powertrain orders in Europe from January to September also rose 4 percent. The order backlog grew about 11 percent compared with the end of 2025, with battery electric vehicles now accounting for roughly 40 percent of that backlog.

"One in five vehicles currently delivered in Europe is a BEV," a Volkswagen Group spokesperson said. "In the order backlog, that share stands at around 40 percent."

In the United States, the broader BEV market contracted sharply after a government subsidy program ended, and ongoing import tariff pressures pushed the group's domestic BEV deliveries down 78 percent. In China, electrified vehicle deliveries in the third quarter rose about 30 percent year on year. On a global basis, cumulative deliveries through the third quarter fell about 9 percent from the same period last year.

Global deliveries of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV) and extended-range electric vehicles (EREV) reached 368,000 units, up about 23 percent year on year. In China, electrified vehicle deliveries in the third quarter climbed about 30 percent from a year earlier, with demand for PHEV and EREV models particularly strong.


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