Volkswagen chief asks EU to back its restructuring

Volkswagen CEO Oliver Blume called the automaker's turnaround a 'shared responsibility' on Sunday, urging European policymakers to set the right framework conditions at an event on the eve of the Paris motor show.

Why it matters: Europe's biggest carmaker is asking Brussels to shield its restructuring from low-cost Chinese rivals, a test of whether industrial policy can buy VW time to fix its product and software gaps.

Data as of Sunday, October 11, 2026: Reuters wire (by Rachel More), corroborated across wire mirrors; not read at the original Reuters page. Single-origin wire story: treat as developing.

Volkswagen chief Oliver Blume expects European policymakers to create the framework needed to make the German automaker’s restructuring a success, he said Sunday at a “For Europe” event on the eve of the Paris motor show, per Reuters. Blume, who called the overhaul “the biggest transformation programme in our history,” backed proposed “Made in Europe” rules to incentivize local manufacturing and welcomed an EU-China deal that could cut Chinese plug-in hybrid imports to the bloc by more than half.

VW is battling an EV price war as Chinese competitors expand in Europe, cutting jobs and threatening to close up to four German plants while investors press Blume to prove the turnaround goes beyond downsizing into product and software.

Volkswagen chief asks EU to back its restructuring

Sources