German auto industry in crisis: VW writes down €10B, Mercedes warns of plant closures

Volkswagen Group took a €10 billion writedown, €6 billion of it tied to its 75 percent stake in Porsche, and is accelerating job cuts. Mercedes-Benz warned it may close one German assembly plant and one powertrain plant, as workers at Audi, BMW, Mercedes, Porsche and VW staged protests.

• VW Group wrote down €10B, with €6B tied to its Porsche stake
• European car sales fell from 18M in 2019 to about 13M in 2025
• Mercedes may close one assembly and one powertrain plant in Germany
• US import tariffs on cars currently stand at 25 percent