Volkswagen AG joined PSA Group in using sales of lucrative SUVs to stand out against a crowd of carmakers struggling with the auto market’s downturn.
The same day Nissan Motor Co. said it would cut about 10% of its global workforce after quarterly profits fell to almost zero, VW on July 25 beat profit expectations in an increasingly difficult environment.
Models such as the VW T-Roc crossover and Skoda Karoq account for some 35% of deliveries this year compared with just 25% last year, a turnaround after VW lagged rivals’ SUV lineups for years. Sales of higher-priced SUVs helped boost Peugeot-maker PSA’s first-half return on sales to a record. VW’s shares rose as much 2.2%.
