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Volkswagen Group

Future Plan 2030, 2026 to 2030

By 2030, we will make the Volkswagen Group the most attractive automotive company in the world
Oliver Blume, CEO of the Volkswagen Group

Future Plan 2030

The Volkswagen Group delivered 4.0 million vehicles in the first half of 2026, with an operating return on sales of 3.8%, which it says is too low. Its Future Plan 2030, which the Supervisory Board approved in September 2026, works through eight levers, from reducing complexity to simplifying Group steering, towards an operating return on sales of 9% in 2030 on an average of 9 million vehicles a year.

1

Reduce complexity

Fewer models and variants, aimed more closely at customers in each region.

  1. 01Half the modelsSharpen the product portfolio by 50% by 2035, to around 75 models across all brands.
  2. 02A quarter of the optionsCut equipment options by around 75%: from over 2,300 seat variations to about 100.
  3. 03More per modelBuild more of each model, at higher margins, with fewer overlaps and derivatives.

18 June 2026Group brands launched over 30 new models in 2025, with 20 more due in 2026.

Volkswagen is cutting its production capacity from more than 12 million vehicles a year towards 9 million

It has cut 2 million in the past two years and plans to take out a further 500,000 a year each in China and in Europe, to match the 9 million vehicles a year on average that the Future Plan is built on.

Each car is 250,000 vehicles a year. The figure after the further cuts is worked out from the cuts the plan sets out.

Volkswagen plans to offer about 100 seat variations instead of more than 2,300

Seats are one example of a cut of around 75% in equipment options, which are to be replaced by simple packages. The model line-up is to shrink by up to half, to around 75 models across all the brands.

2,300+

seat variations

Each seat is one seat variation; the ones kept are spread evenly through the rows.

  1. Put the size of the business in the plan.

    Volkswagen builds its Future Plan on an average of 9 million vehicles a year, not on hoped-for growth, and sizes everything to it: capacity, overheads, and investment. We recommend stating the volume a plan assumes, so that the costs are set for the business that is likely and not for one that might never come.

  2. Count complexity in things people can see.

    Volkswagen measures its push to simplify in plain counts: from over 2,300 seat variations to about 100, about half the models, and a third fewer shareholdings. We recommend turning a goal such as less complexity into numbers of things, because a count shows whether anything has actually gone.

  3. Name the hard decisions with dates.

    The plan says which plants have no guaranteed future work from 2031 to 2034, and when a concept for the European network is due: the end of June 2027. We recommend putting the most difficult parts of a plan in writing with their dates, so that the people affected hear them early and the company is held to them.

Sources

  1. 1. Volkswagen AG (2026). Strengthen substance, invest with purpose in the future, build lasting value: Oliver Blume presents key levers of plan for the future at Volkswagen AG Annual General Meeting. Press release, 18 June 2026. volkswagen-group.com
  2. 2. Volkswagen AG (2026). Volkswagen Group stays on track in challenging environment and expects improved margin in the second half of the year. Press release, 24 July 2026. volkswagen-group.com
  3. 3. Volkswagen AG (2026). Future Plan: Volkswagen Group is Entering the Next Phase of Transformation. Company website, 3 September 2026. volkswagen-group.com

Headwater is not connected with Volkswagen AG. Volkswagen, Audi, Porsche, PowerCo, CARIAD, and Everllence are trade marks of their owners. Updated 5 October 2026.

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