Group sales revenue rose year-on-year from €56.2bn to € 58.2bn, but the company said operating profit had decreased from €4.4bn to €4.2bn, a fall of 3.6%.

In a regulatory statement Volkswagen said: ‘The moderate decline is due, among other things, to the negative effect resulting from a change in the reporting of the valuation of derivatives (IFRS 9). Without this effect, the adjusted earnings were up slightly year-on-year.’

The group’s operating profit does not include the proportionate operating profit from the Chinese joint ventures. This rose to €1.2bnn – despite negative exchange rate effects – from the beginning of January to the end of March 2018. These companies are accounted for using the equity method and are therefore reflected in the group’s financial result. After taxes, the group’s three-month profit stood at €3.3bn.

Report by Pat Sweet