VW's Preferred Shares Caught in a Three-Way Squeeze as the Family Owner Turns Up the Heat
Published on 08/11/2026 at 06:10 | Redaktion boerse-global.de
The tension enveloping Volkswagen has rarely been more visible than in Monday's trading session, where the preferred shares slipped another 1.65 percent to close at 74.92 euros. That leaves the stock down 28.07 percent since the start of the year and trading 18.51 percent below its 200-day moving average — a technical snapshot of an equity that investors have been steadily abandoning as the automaker's restructuring efforts collide with resistance from labor and pressure from its own controlling shareholder.
The immediate catalyst for the latest leg lower was not a fresh round of sales data or a production miss. Instead, it was the release of Porsche SE's first-half numbers, which laid bare the financial toll that Volkswagen's struggles are taking on its largest shareholder. The holding company, which controls the majority of voting rights in the Wolfsburg group through its stake, posted a net loss of 2.2 billion euros for the period, swinging from a profit of 0.3 billion euros a year earlier. The damage was driven by 3 billion euros in writedowns on the VW stake and a further 0.2 billion euros on its holding in Porsche AG. Adjusted net profit after taxes came in at 0.9 billion euros, down from 1.1 billion euros, while net financial debt stood at 5 billion euros at the end of June. For the full year, Porsche SE continues to guide for adjusted group earnings between 1.5 billion and 3.5 billion euros and net debt of 4.7 billion to 5.2 billion euros.
Those figures carry more weight than the average quarterly report. Porsche SE chief Hans Dieter Pötsch used the occasion to describe Volkswagen as standing at a "historic turning point" and called for swift decisions, while CFO Johannes Lattwein said the group must cut overcapacity and reduce costs without ruling out any options. The message from Stuttgart is unambiguous: the families behind Volkswagen want the savings program implemented quickly, and they are signaling willingness to back unpopular measures.
That puts the controlling shareholder on a direct collision course with the IG Metall union, which is blocking the factory closures that Volkswagen has reportedly put on the table. According to the Financial Times, the group is planning to cut up to 100,000 jobs worldwide and shut four German plants — Emden, Zwickau, Hannover and Audi's Neckarsulm site. A reduction of 50,000 positions by 2030 had already been agreed, with the supervisory board meeting on that matter held on July 9. The union rejects both the closures and the deeper job cuts, leaving a wide gap between a shareholder demanding speed and a workforce defending its sites.
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A Radical Slim-Down of the Model Lineup
Amid the boardroom standoff, Volkswagen is pressing ahead with an efficiency drive that reaches deep into its product strategy. The company plans to halve its global model portfolio and cut equipment options by 75 percent, a move designed to reduce production capacity and lower manufacturing complexity. For a mass-market manufacturer of Volkswagen's scale, such a comprehensive thinning of the range represents an unusually deep intervention — one that aims to reshape the cost structure permanently.
The plans were signaled alongside the group's first-half results, published on July 24, in which Volkswagen acknowledged a difficult market environment. Since then, the signals have multiplied that the second half of the year will see a significant counter-offensive. The preferred shares closed Monday at 75.28 euros in the primary article's account, down 1.49 percent on the day and 27.72 percent lower year-to-date — though the secondary report, based on the same trading day, shows a slightly deeper decline to 74.92 euros, reflecting intraday movement at different points of capture.
A US Strategy Built on SUVs and a First-Ever Pickup
While the cost-cutting front dominates headlines in Germany, Volkswagen is simultaneously repositioning itself in North America, where the strategy centers on high-margin full-size SUVs and the introduction of the group's first own pickup truck by 2030, potentially in partnership with Ford. The 2027 Atlas Cross Sport has already been presented as a core element of this new direction.
The management reshuffle accompanying this push is notable: Marco Schubert, previously head of sales at Audi, is taking over the US division from Kjell Gruner. The pickup, which could be built in Chattanooga, Tennessee, with a possible launch before 2030, would go up against established players like the Ford F-150 — an ambitious bet for a company that is simultaneously scaling back capacity in Germany.
Pushing Back on Chinese Competition
On the trade front, Volkswagen is also pressing the European Commission to impose tariffs on Chinese plug-in hybrids, arguing that state subsidies in China distort competition. The move underscores how the group is trying to address competitive pressure from China on multiple levels — politically, through its product portfolio and via cost reductions — even as it trims the variety of models it offers.
Analyst View Remains Constructive
The Berenberg Bank reaffirmed its buy rating on the preferred shares on July 27 with a price target of 100 euros, a level well above the current trading price. Whether that assessment holds up will depend on how quickly the market can gauge the impact of the portfolio streamlining and the US repositioning — and, crucially, on whether the standoff between Porsche SE and the workforce can be resolved. Until then, the uncertainty surrounding the stock is likely to persist, with the interests of capital and labor pulling in opposite directions.
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