Volkswagen Sees V-Shaped Auto Rebound for China; South Europe More 'Bathtub-Shaped'

By William Boston

BERLIN--Volkswagen AG, the world's biggest car maker by sales, sees major automotive markets recovering at different paces.

Juergen Stackmann, board member in charge of sales at the Volkswagen brand car group, told reporters on Wednesday that sales in April had essentially already returned to pre-crisis levels in China, which he said is experiencing a classic V-shaped recovery.

"We've all been debating whether there will be a V-shaped recovery or not," Mr. Stackmann said. "It is clear that China is going through corona with a typical V-shaped recovery."

There are unique factors that made China different before the crisis that are now coming into play to help that market. The most important is the lower rate of car ownership per capita in China compared to Europe and the U.S.

In Europe, however, the recovery in the industry is expected to be slower and advance at different paces in northern and southern Europe.

"We're not really counting on a V-shaped recovery in Europe," he said. "In Europe, we all have cars, so we think the recovery in Europe will take longer. We're looking at a two-speed Europe. Southern Europe was hit really bad. It's going to take longer than China. More bathtub-shaped, as the economists say. Northern Europe is standing up really well."

Write to William Boston at william.boston@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 06, 2020 05:13 ET (09:13 GMT)

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