BERLIN, March 13 (Xinhua) -- The Volkswagen Group increased its net profit in 2023 by 13.1 percent year-on-year to 17.9 billion euros (19.5 billion U.S. dollars), Germany's largest carmaker said on Wednesday.
At the same time, revenue rose by 15.5 percent to 322.3 billion euros, with brands such as Porsche, Lamborghini, Bentley, and Audi achieving "good results" in the passenger car segment, according to the company.
"In 2023, we have established a solid foundation," said Volkswagen Group CEO Oliver Blume, adding that the company is "entering the long-distance race of transformation from a position of strength."
Driven by 34.7 percent growth in all-electric vehicles (BEV), Volkswagen increased its global deliveries by 11.8 percent to 9.24 million units last year. BEV already made up 8.3 percent of sales, up from 6.9 percent in the previous year.
China remained Volkswagen's largest single market in 2023, with deliveries slightly up to 3.24 million vehicles last year, according to the German carmaker. Meanwhile, BEV deliveries in China rose by 23 percent to 190,820 units.
As part of its "In China for China" strategy, Volkswagen is striving to reduce the development time for new technology there by 30 percent, in order to keep up with "China speed," the company recently said in its annual report.
Together with "strong partners" such as XPeng, Thundersoft, and Horizon Robotics, the carmaker will "continue to work on the development of vehicles that are fully aligned with the needs of Chinese customers," Volkswagen added.
In 2024, the Germany's largest car maker aims to further increase sales revenue by 5 percent. "We are confident about 2024, despite the muted economic outlook and intense competition," said CFO and COO Arno Antlitz when presenting the guidance earlier this month. ■