A recommendation from the investment house Jefferies boosted Volkswagen (VW) shares on Tuesday. The shares temporarily rose by 2.53 percent to 110.16 euros via XETRA.
Jefferies analyst Philippe Houchois is now more optimistic about the shares and raised his price target from 115 to 150 euros. The car manufacturer may be a “slow-moving tanker”, but the expert believes that there should be enormous improvements on the cost side of the core brand and current assets in 2024. Based on the new price target, he sees sufficient scope for a double upgrade from “Underperform” to “Buy”.
Volkswagen shares have been under pressure for months. Since the interim high at the beginning of March, they had lost up to 27 percent to an annual low of 104.48 euros in the first half of September. One reason for the losses is concerns about the increasingly strong Electric car-Competition from China.
It was only at the beginning of September that analyst Patrick Hummel from the major Swiss bank emphasized in a study the headwind that Volkswagen was also facing in Europe from Chinese electric cars. This is generally underestimated. On a global level, the people of Wolfsburg would also be under the greatest pressure from increasing competition from China.
At the same time, the topic of growing Chinese competition came into greater focus due to the IAA Mobility car and transport trade fair in Munich. As demand for electric vehicles continues to advance, Chinese manufacturers are increasingly pushing into the European market, which became apparent at the IAA, traditionally the in-house exhibition for German car brands.
In mid-September, however, the prospect of EU measures against alleged cheap imports as a result of government subsidies for Chinese electric cars brought some relief. EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen had announced a so-called anti-subsidy investigation into vehicles from China.
“The price of these cars is artificially depressed by huge government subsidies – this distorts our market,” said the top politician in the European Parliament. That is not acceptable. World markets would be flooded with cheaper Chinese electric cars.
Nevertheless, such measures would do little to counter the growing pressure in the important Chinese market. VW sales in China continued to decline in August. At 278,000 vehicles, 6.5 percent fewer cars were sold there than in August 2022. However, VW justifies this with an unusually strong month of the previous year, when China boosted sales with tax advantages.
According to Börsianer, it remains to be seen how far the recovery potential of VW shares extends against this background. They are still stuck in a downward trend channel that runs between around 96 and around 125 euros. Despite the latest attempt at recovery, the losses since the multi-year high in spring 2021 still add up to around 56 percent.
VW opens Moia electric taxi service to municipal licensees
Volkswagen is opening its shared taxi service Moia to other providers via a license model.
Cities, local transport companies and municipal authorities will in future be able to use the technology required to operate the ride-sharing service for a fee, as the VW subsidiary announced on Tuesday in Hamburg. This also includes the possibility of using the Moia brand. In addition to the software for controlling vehicle fleets and operating processes, Moia offers a platform for all customer applications, including the customer app, performance control, demand forecasting and the system for dynamic pricing of trips. Cities and local operators could choose how they wanted to use the service.
The need for flexible and sustainable on-demand mobility for urban areas is constantly growing, explained Moia boss Sascha Meyer. The license model makes it possible to quickly and seamlessly integrate a turnkey ridepooling solution into the existing transport system.
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Moia has been offering the shared taxi service under its own management in Hamburg and Hanover for several years. The electric minibuses can be booked via an app and collect passengers with a similar route. For this purpose, virtual stopping points have been set up in the city where passengers can get on and off. The transport service does not see itself as competition to buses and trains, but rather works together with local public transport. The service can be booked via the “Switch” app from the Hamburg transport association HVV and has been part of public transport since January, meaning it can use bus lanes.
Moia has been testing self-driving Moia vehicles in Munich for some time, which will be used as robotaxis in Hamburg from 2025. Licensees should also be able to use this technology in the future.
VW unveils new Tiguan at its main factory
Volkswagen chose the location for the world premiere of the third generation of the Tiguan carefully: not at the IAA motor show in Munich two weeks ago, where the compact SUV was still on display in camouflage, or purely virtually, as was the case with the Passat at the end of August, but directly in Wolfsburg The vehicle was unveiled on Tuesday at the factory – where the car is also built. More than 10,000 employees attended the works meeting.
“The compact SUV is a very important model for the company and the Wolfsburg location,” said Schäfer. Since the launch of the first generation in 2007, more than 7.5 million vehicles have been delivered worldwide. It has been the brand’s best-selling model since 2018. They want to build on this with the third generation of the combustion engine, which will again be available as a petrol engine, diesel engine and plug-in hybrid. Production in Wolfsburg is scheduled to start in the fall and sales will start in early 2024.
Flower surrounded by selfie photographers
Works council boss Daniela Cavallo, who said the idea for the premiere at the factory came from, spoke of a “special sign of appreciation” that the car was first shown to the workforce. CEO Oliver Blume, clearly in a good mood, took the opportunity to swim in the crowd – and was immediately surrounded by employees who wanted a selfie with the boss.
It was the first time that VW held a world premiere as part of a works meeting. With this, brand boss Schäfer primarily wants to send a signal to the unsettled workforce. “This is particularly important in these times,” he said. The billion-dollar efficiency program he announced in June demands “a lot from everyone.” The design is currently being negotiated with the works council and results should be available by October.
Tiguan should improve utilization
The VW main plant has been underutilized for years. Shifts are currently being canceled due to a lack of engine parts from Slovenia and the affected employees are on short-time work. And the electric hopeful ID.3, which is scheduled to arrive on the same assembly line as the new Tiguan in the fall, has also lost some of its shine since demand for electric cars has stalled. As a result, more than 200 temporary positions will be eliminated at the Zwickau plant, which was actually supposed to relieve Wolfsburg of the ID.3.
There is correspondingly great hope in Wolfsburg for the new combustion engine Tiguan. As production director Christian Vollmer put it to the applause of the workforce, it means one thing above all: “Work!”
Last combustion engine generation of the Tiguan
According to Schäfer, it is likely to be the last completely new generation of the Tiguan to be launched as a combustion engine. An electric car in Tiguan format will follow in 2026, with the combustion engine continuing to run in parallel. Schäfer left it open whether the electric SUV would then be called ID.Tiguan. “It is clear that we will not give up iconic names like Golf, Tiguan and GTI, but rather transfer them to the electric world. But that has to fit with the VW genes.”
Decision on Stadler’s statement in VW investor process postponed
In the multi-billion-dollar model trial by investors on the VW diesel affair, a decision is made about a statement by the former Audi boss Rupert Stadler been postponed. Those involved in the process agreed on this on Tuesday in the Braunschweig town hall. The outcome of the criminal trial against Stadler in Munich will be awaited for the proceedings at the Higher Regional Court (OLG) in the Lower Saxony city.
The Munich regional court sentenced Stadler and two co-defendants in the diesel scandal to suspended sentences for fraud. However, this is not legally binding; the ex-Audi boss has lodged an appeal. Since an end to this procedure is possible until a BGH decision is made next year, a decision for the model trial in Braunschweig will be postponed, it was said.
Stadler was one of the first possible witnesses that the Braunschweig Higher Regional Court wants to hear in the investor proceedings against the Volkswagen Group and the umbrella holding company Porsche SE because of the diesel scandal as part of an extensive taking of evidence. However, Stadler invoked a comprehensive right to refuse to testify, which was discussed in detail on Tuesday.
Since 2018, the process under the Capital Investor Model Procedure Act has been in dispute over compensation for investors who suffered billions in price losses after the VW diesel affair was exposed. The court wants to hear from 86 witnesses and examine a large number of documents. In addition to Stadler, the list of witnesses includes the names of the former VW Group bosses Martin WinterkornMatthias Müller and Herbert Diess.
FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX) and
Hamburg (Reuters)
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