Automobili Lamborghini wrapped up the third quarter of 2025 with financial results that prove raging bulls don’t stumble easily—even when the global economy does. Despite economic slowdowns, volatile exchange rates, and fresh U.S. tariffs on imported vehicles, the Sant’Agata Bolognese brand continues to post numbers most automakers would envy.
Over the first nine months of 2025, Lamborghini delivered 8,140 cars worldwide, raking in €2.41 billion in revenue and an operating profit of €592 million. Those figures are slightly below last year’s record-setting pace, but still position Lamborghini among the most profitable names in the performance-luxury world. Profitability sits at 24.6 percent, right in line with industry leaders such as Ferrari and Porsche.
“These results confirm the strength of our industrial model and the consistency of our strategy,” said Stephan Winkelmann, Lamborghini’s Chairman and CEO. “Even with the challenges of currency fluctuations and U.S. trade policies, our focus remains on consolidating our fully hybrid lineup while continuing to invest in innovation, quality, and brand value.”
Lamborghini’s hybrid era—once a daring vision—has now become its operating reality. Following the electrified Revuelto and Urus SE, the Temerario, a V8 twin-turbo hybrid supercar, officially completes the marque’s transition to a 100 percent hybrid range. Unveiled earlier this year, the Temerario has already generated a full year’s worth of orders before deliveries even begin. Meanwhile, the ultra-limited Fenomeno, revealed at Monterey Car Week, flexed the brand’s creative muscle with only 29 units destined for the world’s most exclusive garages. Think of it as Lamborghini’s rolling thesis on design, engineering, and excess.
“Our order book continues to provide strong visibility and demonstrates the confidence our clients have in us globally,” added Paolo Poma, Lamborghini’s Managing Director and CFO. “These results underscore the company’s structural solidity and long-term vision.”
Regionally, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) led deliveries with 3,683 units, followed by the Americas at 2,541, and Asia-Pacific (APAC) with 1,916. In other words, the raging bull still charges strongest on home turf, but demand remains global and stable.
Even with a slightly lower top line, Lamborghini’s performance signals a brand successfully navigating turbulence. As the company moves into the final quarter of 2025 with a fully hybrid lineup, a healthy order portfolio, and a steady focus on profitability, one thing’s clear: electrification hasn’t tamed the bull—it’s only made it meaner.
Volkswagen Group’s Brand Group Core — the umbrella team overseeing Volkswagen Passenger Cars, Škoda, SEAT/CUPRA, and Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles — is showing real traction in 2025. Despite a cocktail of cost pressures, tariff hurdles, and the growing pains of electrification, the group posted solid results for the first nine months of the year. Sales revenue, deliveries, and operating profit all ticked upward, a testament to sharper cost discipline and a slew of new metal that’s resonating with buyers.
A Solid Nine-Month Run
Through September 2025, the Brand Group Core grew its operating result by 6.8%, reaching €4.7 billion. The catalysts? Strong demand for fresh models like the Volkswagen Tayron, ID.7 Tourer, Transporter/Multivan, CUPRA Terramar, and Škoda Elroq — all products of a coordinated cross-brand product push.
The numbers reflect not just higher sales but smarter spending. Intensive cost-cutting programs — the latest iterations of VW’s long-running performance initiatives — have begun to show teeth, slicing both fixed and percentage-based expenses across the board.
Still, it wasn’t all smooth sailing. Import duties in the U.S. and restructuring charges, especially at the Volkswagen brand, weighed heavily. Combined, they dragged down earnings by about €1.1 billion, trimming the operating margin that would otherwise have hit a healthier 5.5% for the group.
“The Strength of the Core”
David Powels, Volkswagen’s finance chief and the Brand Group Core’s numbers man, struck a confident tone despite the financial crosswinds.
“Even in the traditionally challenging third quarter, the strength of the Brand Group Core has been evident,” Powels said. “We are launching new models faster than before. This will be the crucial lever for safeguarding our competitiveness in the global environment.”
In plain English: the machine is starting to hum again, and VW wants to prove it can run leaner while still delivering the volume expected of the world’s biggest mainstream automaker.
Brand Breakdown
Volkswagen Passenger Cars: The Anchor Rebuilds
VW Passenger Cars delivered 2.28 million vehicles from January to September — up modestly at 0.8% year-over-year. Sales revenue nudged forward to €63.8 billion, and the operating result rose to €1.48 billion, lifting margins from 2.0% to 2.3%.
The all-new Tayron SUV is emerging as a global hit, joining the T-Cross, T-Roc, and the ever-growing ID. family in pulling the brand’s performance upward.
However, tariffs on U.S. imports and the margin squeeze of ramping up EV production continue to sting. Without those one-off hits, VW’s operating margin would have landed closer to 4.0%.
“We see strong dynamics for our models, but the global environment remains volatile,” the brand’s statement read. “The challenges in China and the U.S. are impacting profitability. Cost control and efficiency improvements remain our top priorities.”
Škoda: Quiet Strength from Mladá Boleslav
If there’s a stealth success story in the VW Group, it’s Škoda. The Czech brand boosted deliveries 14.1% to 765,700 vehicles, securing its spot as Europe’s third-strongest marque by volume.
Revenue climbed 9.5% to €22.3 billion, while operating profit rose 5.4% to €1.79 billion, an enviable 8.0% margin. The all-new Elroq, Škoda’s first compact electric SUV, is already a smash hit — with 100,000 orders since launch.
Electrification is moving fast here: plug-in and battery-electric vehicles now make up 24.1% of Škoda’s lineup, more than double last year’s share.
Škoda’s international expansion is also paying off, with record sales in India (+106%). The brand’s “Level Efficiency +” program — think of it as cost control with Czech pragmatism — continues to deliver.
“Despite market challenges, we grew both revenue and profit,” said Škoda’s leadership. “Our transformation to e-mobility is gaining traction while we maintain strong profitability.”
SEAT/CUPRA: The Stylish Sufferer
Over at SEAT S.A., the story is more complicated. Revenue jumped 6.9% to €11.24 billion, but operating profit nosedived from €415 million to €16 million. That’s a brutal 96% drop, cutting margins to a razor-thin 0.1%.
Why? A shift in sales mix toward EVs and EU import duties on the CUPRA Tavascan built in China. In short: more electrics, less profit — for now.
Still, the brand’s leadership remains defiant. CUPRA’s Terramar launch has generated buzz, and the Spanish arm will soon lead VW’s next big project: the Electric Urban Car Family, a lineup of compact EVs built in Martorell and Pamplona starting in 2026. The program promises €600 million in synergy savings across its lifecycle.
“We’re focused on improving the margin quality of our EVs,” SEAT said. “Sustainability and profitability must go hand in hand.”
Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles: ID. Buzz Still Shining
Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles (VWN) had a mixed bag of a year. Sales rose 5% to 324,000 vehicles, with revenue surging 13% to €12.5 billion, driven by pricier BEV models like the ID. Buzz.
Deliveries fell 10.7% due to the new Transporter’s slow ramp-up, and the operating margin slipped to 1.8% (down from 5.5% last year). Even so, the ID. Buzz continues to lead the European market for electric vans, holding a 22.5% share.
“Our vehicles are in strong demand,” VWN noted. “But intensified competition and regulatory costs have weighed on the bottom line.”
Looking Ahead: Boost 2030 and Beyond
The focus now turns to Volkswagen’s BOOST 2030 strategy — a corporate overhaul aimed at making VW the world’s most technologically advanced volume automaker by the end of the decade.
That means faster development cycles, shared platforms, and global coordination. Production is now organized across five regions to maximize efficiency and reduce complexity, while a new cross-brand R&D structure is being rolled out to shorten development times.
The most ambitious piece? The Electric Urban Car Family — VW’s answer to the affordable EV problem. With four models (two VW, one CUPRA, one Škoda) sharing components and factories in Spain, this project could finally deliver the economies of scale Europe’s mass-market EV segment has been waiting for.
Volkswagen’s Brand Group Core isn’t just surviving a tough 2025 — it’s evolving through it. The momentum is there: cost control is sticking, the product cadence is faster, and the cross-brand synergy machine is finally paying off.
But to stay competitive against relentless Chinese upstarts and tightening global regulations, the group must prove that its electric pivot can be both green and profitable.
For now, though, the numbers — and the new metal — show a legacy giant rediscovering its rhythm.
Kia just posted its highest-ever third-quarter revenue and sales volume, driven by surging demand for hybrids and a growing lineup of EVs. But even as the Korean automaker’s electrified strategy continues to pay dividends, profitability took a hit thanks to trade headwinds and aggressive incentives—especially in the United States.
Record Revenue, Record Sales
In Q3 2025, Kia raked in ₩28.69 trillion (roughly $21 billion) in revenue, an 8.2 percent jump year over year. That figure marks the company’s strongest third-quarter performance ever, fueled by global appetite for electrified models and a higher average selling price across its lineup.
Kia moved 785,137 vehicles globally between July and September, up 2.8 percent from a year earlier. The brand’s hybrid lineup remains its strongest growth engine, while EVs continue to gain traction—particularly in North America and Korea.
Profit Takes a Tariff Hit
The bright sales figures couldn’t mask the sting from new U.S. tariffs and incentive spending. Operating profit slid 49.2 percent to ₩1.46 trillion, dropping the operating margin to 5.1 percent. Net profit fell 37.3 percent year over year, landing at ₩1.42 trillion.
The silver lining: solid hybrid performance in the U.S. and steady domestic demand in Korea helped cushion the blow. “Hybrid is our anchor in volatile markets,” a Kia executive reportedly told investors.
Regional Highlights
Kia’s home market remains a stronghold, with Korean sales climbing 10.2 percent to 138,009 units, powered by robust demand for recreational vehicles (RVs) and new EV offerings.
Overseas, Kia delivered 647,128 vehicles, up modestly at 1.4 percent, but with standout growth in North America (+2.3 percent), Asia-Pacific, and Central and South America.
Europe proved a mixed bag: while the new EV3 is finding buyers, total volume slipped as Kia phased out several models and paused production at its Slovakia plant to prepare for the next wave of EVs. In India, sales slowed ahead of a government Goods and Services Tax (GST) adjustment, though Kia expects a rebound in Q4 following the rollout of the redesigned Seltos SUV.
Electrified Surge
Kia’s electrified portfolio continues to expand rapidly. The brand sold 204,000 hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and battery-electric vehicles (xEVs) in Q3—a 32.3 percent leap year over year. Electrified models now make up 26.4 percent of Kia’s total global sales, up from 21 percent in 2024.
Hybrids led the charge with 118,000 units sold (+40.9%), buoyed by models like the Sportage and Sorento HEVs. Battery-electric vehicles climbed 30 percent to 70,000 units, while plug-in hybrids dipped slightly to 17,000 units, down 2.6 percent.
The Road Ahead
Looking forward, Kia says it’s bracing for more global trade turbulence but remains confident in its electrified roadmap. The company plans to expand its hybrid lineup and accelerate EV launches, with a full stable of electric models slated to arrive by 2027.
In Korea, Kia will build on RV and hybrid momentum and enter new territory with its first pickup truck, the Tasman. The EV5 and PV5 are next on deck, joining the brand’s growing all-electric family.
In the U.S., Kia aims to balance hybrid flexibility with EV expansion, leveraging its adaptive manufacturing systems to respond quickly to policy shifts. Europe will see fresh arrivals including the EV4, EV5, and PV5, while India’s lineup will grow around the Syros and a next-gen Seltos.
Kia’s Q3 numbers tell a clear story: electrification is working. The brand is selling more hybrids and EVs than ever before, commanding higher prices and stronger market share. But as tariffs tighten margins and incentives eat into profits, Kia faces the same challenge every automaker does in the EV transition—finding a balance between volume, value, and volatility.
