Volkswagen is losing up to $3.6 billion a week, despite shutdown

Volkswagen CEO Herbert Diess told media that the business is still operational – however running at a loss, as reported by Automotive News.

He put the business’s operational costs at approximately €2 billion (AU$3.6 billion) each week, however did not allude to net loss.

“We need to rethink production. We do not yet have the discipline that we had in China at our German locations," Mr Deiss said.

Currently, Volkswagen is only selling in Chinese regions, however its production in the region is still running at approximately half-capacity compared to pre-COVID-19 measures.

“We are not making sales or revenues outside of China,” Mr Diess added.

The brand is looking at alternative production methods that will not risk its staff – in terms of both their health and employment.

Volkswagen operates 124 factories globally and has 671,000 staff. Over 70 of these factories are in Europe and have been suspended in attempts to curb transmission of COVID-19.

Earlier this year, the Volkswagen Group announced strong 2019 sales figures, however was preparing for them not to be replicable in the face of the pandemic.

Sales for the group were down approximately 15 per cent over January and February, with the group’s chief financial officer predicting a 50 per cent decline in sales over the January to March period in 2020 compared to last year’s results.