VW said to overhaul supercar strategy, putting Lamborghini, Bugatti in focus

WOLFSBURG -- Volkswagen Group is reviewing the future of its high-performance brands Lamborghini, Bugatti and Ducati as part of broader quest for more economies of scale as it shifts to mass producing electric cars, senior executives told Reuters.

VW's management board and directors will look at the automaker's strategy at a meeting in November and are working on a new "to do list" as the company tries to more than double its value to 200 billion euros ($235 billion), one executive said.

The review could result in technology partnerships for the Lamborghini, Bugatti high-performance sports cars brands and the Ducati superbike brand. Other options include restructuring, and a listing or sale, said two executives, who declined to be named.

Reports last month said VW is in talks to sell Bugatti to Croatian performance electric-car specialist Rimac. Lamborghini CEO Stefano Domenicali is stepping down to join Formula One as CEO amid speculation about the brand's future.

Executives said VW Group, which also owns the VW, Audi, Porsche, Seat and Skoda brands, is looking at whether it has the resources to develop electric platforms for its smaller brands at a time it is investing billions to transform its more mainstream cars.

The stark choice faced by Volkswagen comes as CEO Herbert Diess seeks new ways to free up cash to fund its move away from combustion engines after powerful labor leaders blocked a cost-cutting drive in Germany.

In an interview with Reuters, Diess declined to comment on the high-performance brands individually but acknowledged that Volkswagen, which also has a stable of trucks, needed to reinvent itself for an era of electric and autonomous cars.

"We are constantly looking at our brand portfolio, this is particularly true during the phase of fundamental change in our industry. In view of the market disruption, we must focus and ask ourselves what the transformation means for the individual parts of the group," Diess told Reuters.

"Brands must be measured against new requirements. By electrification, by reach, by digitalization and connectivity of the vehicle. There is new room for maneuver and every brand must find its new place," he said.

Besides building the common electric vehicle architecture that will underpin many of its bigger brands, Volkswagen needs to free up cash to develop connected and autonomous vehicle technology and new forms of mobility services.

Last year, Volkswagen sold 4,554 Lamborghinis, which start at about $200,000 and cost millions for special editions. It sold 82 Bugattis, which have seven-digit price tags, and just over 53,000 Ducati motorbikes.

But some company insiders question whether it's worth investing scarce resources to produce silent electric versions if they don't appeal to fans of the noisy, high-octane brands.

Unlike many U.S. firms that can tap more liquid and deeper capital markets to raise money for investment, Volkswagen relies more on cash flow from sales of combustion-engine cars to fund its shift to battery-powered vehicles.

"We are a large conglomerate and have to struggle with a low multiple and a conglomerate discount. But we are doing something about it," Diess said, pointing to the sale of engine drive maker Renk and the restructuring of truck brand MAN.

Diess believes the company's valuation will rise once the market understands how profitable its EVs are, but it faces a short-term investment crunch after EU lawmakers proposed a 50 percent cut in carbon dioxide emissions by 2030.

He told Reuters the goal of raising Volkswagen's market value to 200 billion euros ($235 billion) by 2025, was still valid. "We formulated the 200 billion euros company valuation as an aspirational target," Diess said.

"Volkswagen is severely undervalued when you look at its technological competence, its global positioning and perhaps also when you see that, compared with the competition, we have the best prerequisites in terms of technology."

Currently, Volkswagen is worth 78 billion euros, far below rival Toyota's $187 billion valuation, even though it sold more vehicles than the Japanese company last year. Volkswagen sold 10.96 million vehicles, the most by any carmaker in the world, while Toyota came in second with 10.74 million.

Analysts say that's because Volkswagen has more brands, is less efficient and has higher costs.

Volkswagen Group had 671,205 employees at the end of 2019, well above the 359,542 Toyota staff at the end of its last financial year.

Bankers are pinning their hopes on investor enthusiasm for companies pushing sustainable transportation and on support from labor leaders for financial transactions which may help Volkswagen raise cash for investment.

"The crucial thing now is to manage the transition to electromobility. That is by far the greatest lever for us in this phase," Diess said. "Individual mobility will change dramatically. Electrification only accounts for 10 percent to 20 percent of this change. The big push will come from the increasing intelligence of vehicles."

A new software stack for the company's 10 million vehicles won't hit the market until 2023 or 2024, Diess said, making it harder for investors to recognize VW's potential now.

Tesla's value has surged this year to above $400 billion as investors backed the U.S. pioneer to cash in on an electric vehicle revolution.

Although analysts say radical surgery is needed to boost Volkswagens' stock price, winning over its supervisory board, where workers control half the seats, may be the hardest part.

"The company's strategy is good. It has already foreseen that there will be adjustments here and there," Volkswagen Group's supervisory board chairman Hans Dieter Poetsch told Reuters, referring to some divestments already announced.

Volkswagen has no plans to list Porsche or Audi, and other plans will only get a hearing if they protect jobs in the long run, according to IG Metall, Germany's biggest union. Its leader, Joerg Hofmann, told Reuters he was not fundamentally opposed to listing, or spinning off divisions.

"We have never opposed plans by a company to fund growth on the stock market," he said. "But if the goal is to break up a company for the sake of getting a higher valuation, or to separate off 'Bad Industry,' then we say 'No,'" Hofmann said.

Rather than walking away from underperforming assets, the company has a responsibility to invest in the future of its employees and locations, he said. "I think Diess is taking the right path," Hofmann said.

After several clashes with VW's powerful labor chief Bernd Osterloh, Diess said he had changed his approach.

"In the last five years I have learned a lot here. In Wolfsburg we have our own culture and also special power structures. This requires a very integrative management style. With my sometimes confrontational approach, I have reached my limits. I have to recognize that and adjust to it."