VW Reports First Quarterly Loss In This Century, At $1.8 Billion

Reporting its first quarterly loss in at least 15 years, Volkswagen is adjusting its profits forecast for 2015. The company says its sales revenue rose — but that costs related to an emissions-cheating scandal overwhelmed earnings to finish at a $1.8 billion loss.

That $1.8 billion figure represents the after-taxes loss claimed by Volkswagen in its new quarterly statement. The carmaker's loss before taxes was far higher: $3.8 billion.

Volkswagen says the losses came along with only a modest drop in sales for the quarter, down 3.7 percent from the third quarter of 2014. We'll remind you, the tally includes all of VW's divisions, such as Audi, Bentley and Porsche. Comparing September of 2015 with the previous year, sales were down 1.5 percent.

"The figures show the core strength of the Volkswagen Group on the one hand, while on the other the initial impact of the current situation is becoming clear," said the company's new CEO, Matthias Müller. He added, "We will do everything in our power to win back the trust we have lost."

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