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Volkswagen has ‘a year, maybe two to turn around’, financial chief warns

Carmaker tells staff it expects to sell 500,000 fewer vehicles than before Covid as it defends plan to close German plants

Volkswagen says it has “a year, maybe two” to adapt to a slump in European car sales, as it seeks to justify proposals to close factories in Germany for the first time in its history.

The carmaker told workers at a meeting at its Wolfsburg headquarters on Wednesday that it expected to sell 500,000 fewer vehicles than before the Covid pandemic, “the equivalent of around two plants”, and predicted it would not return to its 2019 level.

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