(Reuters) – Volkswagen’s truck unit Traton guided for a tepid commercial vehicle market for 2025 on Monday after persistent weakness in Europe, particularly in Germany, weighed on its results last year.
“We expect the global economy to lose some momentum in 2025,” Traton said in a statement, adding that it would continue to focus on efficiency measures this year.
The truck maker forecast 2025 sales development in a range of -5% to +5% and an operating return on sales of between 7.5% and 8.5%. The outlook is subject to geopolitical developments, particularly in the United States, it said.
Adjusted operating return on sales, Traton’s main profitability metric, rose to 9.2% in 2024, exceeding both the 2023 figure and the company’s forecast, although that was mainly thanks to efficiency measures while vehicle sales fell.
Annual sales and adjusted operating result were stable at 47.47 billion euros ($51.47 billion) and 4.38 billion euros, respectively.
European truck makers struggled through last year amid falling orders, after pent-up demand following the pandemic drove 2023 sales to record highs.
Traton’s results come as its parent Volkswagen undergoes a major restructuring with thousands of job cuts in Germany due to shrinking European demand, rising competition from China and uncertainties around the electric vehicle (EV) transition.
($1 = 0.9223 euros)
(Reporting by Andrey Sychev and Amir Orusov in Gdansk; editing by Milla Nissi)
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