Volkswagen Group H1 2026 Deliveries: Europe Growth, China and US Decline, Skoda Elroq Leads EV Sales

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Volkswagen Group's first half of 2026 tells two very different stories at once. In Europe, the carmaker gained ground, especially in electric vehicles. But China and the US dragged global deliveries down hard. The result: 4,125,700 vehicles over six months, down 6.3% year-on-year.

On paper, that looks like a moderate slide. Underneath, the regional gap is far sharper. European deliveries rose 3.5% to 2,041,000 vehicles. Electric vehicles were the main growth driver: BEV deliveries climbed 8.4% to 377,000 units.

Volkswagen Group now holds 21% of the Western European battery-electric market. Asia tells a completely different story. Deliveries across the Asia-Pacific region fell 24%, with China down 25.9%. The pain was sharpest in electric vehicles: BEV sales in China dropped 47.9% between January and June. The company links this to a broader cooldown in the Chinese market, though the second quarter showed early signs of recovery, helped by the SAIC-VW ID. ERA 9X with its extended range.

North America offered no relief either. Volkswagen Group's EV sales in the region collapsed 68.8% — from 31,300 to 9,800 units. The causes go beyond demand alone. The expiration of the federal EV tax credit, import tariffs, and the group's own production choices all played a role: the Chattanooga plant shifted its focus to the Atlas rather than the ID.4.

Inside the group, the most worrying signal came from the Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand itself. Its global sales fell 10.9%, with EV deliveries down 28.2%. Against that backdrop, Skoda looks like the exception: the Czech brand delivered 555,700 vehicles and sharply expanded its EV lineup.

The main story is the Skoda Elroq. Skoda's EV deliveries jumped 48.3%, and the Elroq became the best-selling BEV inside Volkswagen Group. It shifted 59,900 units in the first half, while the Volkswagen ID.4 and ID.5 combined managed 53,700. For the group, that marks a real shift: the electric center of gravity briefly moved away from Volkswagen itself and toward the more practical, easier-to-read Skoda.

Premium brands didn't escape the downturn either. Audi lost 7.2%, Porsche 16.5%, Bentley 13.6%, and Lamborghini 4.6%. Even strong names couldn't fully offset the slump in key markets. Plug-in hybrids and range-extended EVs acted as a temporary cushion for the group, with deliveries up 27%. But that doesn't change the bigger picture.

Volkswagen Group remains strong in Europe, but in China and the US, the old formula no longer works on its own. The Elroq is especially telling here. Buyers aren't voting for the loudest badge — they're voting for a practical product at the right size and price. For Volkswagen, that may matter even more than the overall 6.3% drop.

Earlier, SPEEDME.RU reported on Volkswagen Group's pivot toward Europe amid pressure from the US and China.