VW Predicts Another Record Sales Year

Volkswagen AG says sales gains in Europe and China will help the group surpass last year’s record-high sales of 10.3 million vehicles.

The group’s volume through October grew 3% year on year to 8.75 million units. October sales surged 8% to 940,800 vehicles.

Separately, CEO Matthias Mueller says he is frustrated at the pace with which the company has been able to streamline operations and clarify accountability. In many areas, he tells staffers in Wolfsburg, “We are still too slow, too bureaucratic and too hierarchical.”

Those company characteristics have raised operating costs and are widely blamed for creating a culture that led to VW’s diesel emission cheating scandal in 2015.