Volkswagen Group, owner of Audi, Porsche, Bentley, Lamborghini, Skoda and other premium marques, is currently valued by the stock market at roughly the same level as Maruti Suzuki, its Indian competitor. The disparity is stark: Volkswagen’s market capitalisation stands at $40.47 billion, while Maruti’s is $39.34 billion, yet Volkswagen’s revenue for the last twelve months is $367.48 billion compared with Maruti’s $20.69 billion. This eighteenfold revenue difference highlights a significant erosion of value for the German automaker over the past five years, when its shares have lost about 77 % of their value.

The decline is largely attributed to Volkswagen’s loss of market share in China, where the company once dominated but was overtaken by BYD in 2024 and slipped to third place by 2025, holding only a 10.9 % share behind BYD and Geely. China accounts for roughly 25‑30 % of Volkswagen’s global sales, and the first half of 2026 saw a drop of over 20 % in deliveries. The loss of this key market has had a disproportionate impact on the group’s profitability, even as its European operations remain stable.

Volkswagen’s struggle with electric vehicle (EV) sales further compounds its challenges. In 2024, the group sold 744,600 EVs, rising to 983,100 in 2025, a 32.0 % increase. However, BYD sold 1,764,992 EVs in 2024 and 2,256,714 in 2025 (+27.9 %), while Geely’s sales jumped 86.3 %. Tesla’s EV sales fell 8.6 % from 2024 to 2025. Although Volkswagen is not the top EV seller, its growth rate is modest compared to Chinese rivals, indicating a lag in the competitive EV landscape.

Software development has also hindered Volkswagen’s progress. The company launched its own software unit, CARIAD, in 2020 to create a unified platform across all brands, but delays in launches such as the electric Porsche Macan have highlighted the unit’s shortcomings. Consequently, Volkswagen has increasingly partnered with external software firms, including Rivian in the United States and Xpeng in China, to mitigate these issues. This reliance on third‑party software introduces additional risk to the group’s future product strategy.

In response to declining performance, Volkswagen has undertaken significant restructuring. In December 2024, it agreed with German unions to cut more than 35,000 jobs across German sites by 2030 and reduce factory capacity by 734,000 cars a year. Additional cuts at Audi, Porsche and CARIAD raised the total to about 50,000 jobs, and the board recently approved an extra 50,000 reductions, roughly 8 % of the global workforce. These measures are projected to save over $6.9 billion annually by 2030, while the future of four German plants remains undecided with a decision due by June 2027.

For Indian investors, Volkswagen’s case underscores the importance of looking beyond headline valuations. The group trades at a low P/E of about 6.8x earnings, which may appear attractive but is offset by a 35.9 % decline in net income over the past year. The company’s heavy reliance on the Chinese market and its software challenges suggest that a low valuation may reflect genuine risk rather than a bargain. Investors should therefore assess the concentration of revenue sources, the competitive dynamics in key markets, and internal operational hurdles before drawing conclusions about value.