From China woes to EV troubles, VW faces rocky road [Video]

As Volkswagen seeks to push through a drastic restructuring with billions of euros in cuts, workers nationwide on Monday kicked off what could be a long wave of industrial action.

From high costs to management missteps and slowdowns in key markets, here are some of the key challenges facing the German car giant:

– High costs –

Europe’s biggest carmaker has repeatedly stressed that its costs are excessive and profit margins too low, particularly at its core VW brand.

Production costs in Germany are “clearly too high”, said a leaflet from VW’s management distributed to the workforce ahead of the first round of talks between executives and unions in September.

All areas would be examined — from development, to manufacturing and distribution — when it comes to cost-cutting, VW group CEO Oliver Blume told public broadcaster ZDF in an interview.

High electricity prices, which have risen since the energy crisis triggered by the Ukraine …