As “Manager-Magazin” revealed, even the Executive Board and Supervisory Board have serious doubts about the automaker’s condition and direction. The results of an anonymous survey, reportedly conducted as early as late 2025, are alarming: Six out of nine members of the Group Executive Board classified the company as “at risk of collapse.” The remaining three described the situation as “tense,” at the very least. 

Survey Causes Upheaval at VW
The actual purpose of the unusual survey was to gauge internal cohesion at the top of the company. However, the responses turned out to be far more dramatic than expected and also revealed internal disagreements about the immediate future. 

The only point of agreement was the extremely critical view of the group. How to find a way out of this predicament is apparently unclear. But the solution must be radical. Four board members stated that top managers were divided. Four others said that agreement existed only on key issues. A similar picture of discord emerged on the supervisory board.

According to the report, the existing strategies for the key markets in China and North America, in particular, were deemed inadequate. The unsparing analysis was prepared by the Boston Consulting Group and presented to the supervisory board by Group CEO Oliver Blume in April. The conclusion: The group is too large, too expensive, and inefficient. 

Plants in Germany Under Scrutiny
It is increasingly being emphasized publicly that the current business model is outdated. Develop in Germany, build in Europe, and sell worldwide—according to Blume, those days are over at the VW Group.

Particularly cost-intensive German plants—such as those in Emden, Zwickau, the commercial vehicle plant in Hanover, and the Audi factory in Neckarsulm—are increasingly coming under scrutiny—a development that also has immediate implications for the Austrian supplier industry.

This ruthless internal reckoning is becoming even more explosive because it comes at a time when several of the Group’s brands have had to report disappointing quarterly results. This downward spiral has also led to a steady decline in VW’s stock price in recent months. The stock is now worth nearly 60 percent less than it was five years ago.

Core Business in China Suffers
“The Chinese automotive market is under increasing pressure,” the Volkswagen Group recently announced in Beijing. Furthermore, the market is not expected to recover over the course of the year, nor are losses expected to be recouped. The Wolfsburg-based company expects the overall market for new vehicles to shrink to fewer than 21 million vehicles.

“Volkswagen Group China cannot escape this trend. We are adjusting our plans accordingly,” explained Germany’s largest automaker. Previously, China’s Passenger Car Association (CPCA) had reported a 19.5 percent decline in sales for the first five months of this year compared to the same period last year.

Volkswagen cited changes in subsidy and tax policies, rising fuel prices, and ongoing price competition as reasons for the market trend, noting that these factors had affected consumer confidence and weighed on overall demand.

So what’s next? 
Although the company plans to invest 160 billion euros globally over the next five years—which is less than in the past—there are significant doubts within both the Executive Board and the Supervisory Board as to whether this amount will be sufficient to meet the enormous challenges.

All eyes are now on the Supervisory Board meeting on July 9, which is likely to focus on further cost cuts. CFO Arno Antlitz announced as early as April: “Decisions must be made in the coming months. We want to be more specific by summer.”

Exactly what will be decided remains to be seen. The revelation of internal criticism could also be a strategic move to lay the groundwork for tough reforms and increase pressure on the labor side, reports the well-connected “Wolfsburger Allgemeine.” Sources within the company have at least confirmed the authenticity of the survey.

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