Volkswagen Dropped From Euro Stoxx 50 Index

Volkswagen has been removed from the Euro Stoxx 50

Volkswagen’s shares came under pressure after the carmaker was removed from the Euro Stoxx 50 — an index of the 50 largest companies in the eurozone. The decision took effect on Monday, 21 September, a few days after the group lowered its operating margin forecast for 2026.

Photo: Sebastian Kahnert/dpa/Global Look Press

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Changes to the index composition were approved in early September as part of the annual review, reports the Financial Times. Finnish company Nokia has replaced Volkswagen in the Euro Stoxx 50, whilst French firm Engie has returned to the index. Dutch company Wolters Kluwer has also been removed from the index.

Volkswagen’s exclusion is not due to an assessment of the company’s prospects, but to the rules governing the composition of the index: it comprises the largest companies in the eurozone, based on the market capitalisation of their free-float shares. The fall in Volkswagen’s share price meant that the company no longer met the established criteria.

This represents an additional source of pressure on the group’s shares. Investment funds that track the Euro Stoxx 50 index must adjust their portfolios and reduce their holdings in Volkswagen. According to Euronews, the company’s shares have lost nearly 30 per cent since the start of the year. Since the market opened on 15 September, they have fallen by a further 6 per cent or more, to around €76.

The situation worsened following Volkswagen’s profit warning. On Friday, the group announced one-off write-downs of approximately €10 billion and lowered its operating margin forecast for 2026 to no more than 1 per cent. Previously, the company had expected a figure in the range of 4–5.5 per cent, whilst analysts had forecast around 4.1 per cent.

More than €6 billion of the write-downs relate to Porsche, in which Volkswagen holds a 75.4 per cent stake. The sports car manufacturer has revised its medium-term outlook downwards, partly due to US tariffs and weak demand in China for foreign luxury cars. Last year, Porsche’s operating margin stood at 1.1 per cent.

A further €2 billion is attributable to early retirement schemes, write-downs in China and the planned sale of Volkswagen Osnabrück GmbH and its plant in Osnabrück.

Volkswagen also warned of a further deterioration in market conditions, particularly in China, and an acceleration in the shift towards battery-powered electric vehicles.

The warning came two weeks after the approval of Volkswagen’s largest-ever restructuring programme. The group has increased its planned workforce reduction to 100,000 people and intends to roughly halve its model range.

Deutsche Bank believes that the latest warning exaggerates the extent of the deterioration in Volkswagen’s core business. At the same time, the bank’s analysts expect further costs, as the group’s restructuring remains a costly and complex process.

Volkswagen will publish its financial results on 29 October.

This story was translated with the assistance of artificial intelligence.The translation was also reviewed by the Logos Press editorial team.

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