Volkswagen Weathers Pandemic With $10.7 Billion Profit

Volkswagen Weathers Pandemic With $10.7 Billion Profit
A Volkswagen ID.3 electric car stands on display at the Autostadt promotional facility next to the Volkswagen factory in Wolfsburg, Germany, on Oct. 26, 2020. Sean Gallup/Getty Images
The Associated Press
Updated:

FRANKFURT, Germany—Volkswagen said Friday it made a better than expected profit of €8.8 billion ($10.7 billion) after tax in 2020 despite the pandemic. The world’s No. 2 automaker said the rapid recovery of China, its largest single market, and resilient sales of luxury vehicles helped the bottom line.

The company gave an upbeat outlook for this year, saying it would carry momentum from the stronger second half of the year over into earnings going forward. It predicted earnings would be in the top part of its forecast range and that sales revenue would be “significantly higher,” assuming successful containment of the COVID-19 pandemic.