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- Liverpool stay top of Premier League as Arsenal, Man City win
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- Trump returns to site of failed assassination
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- O'Brien's 'superstar' Kyprios posts landmark win on Arc weekend
- Liverpool suffer Alisson injury blow
- Habosi helps Racing beat Vannes before Auradou's playing return
- Thousands march in London in support of Palestinians, 1 year after Oct 7
- Israel readying response to Iran missile attack
- Schutt, Mooney help Australia beat Sri Lanka in Women's T20 World Cup
- Liverpool extend Premier League lead with win at Palace
- Djokovic 'shakes rust off' to make third round of Shanghai Masters
- 'Imperfect' PSG fighting on all fronts - Luis Enrique
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- Guardiola claims Premier League won't delay season for Man City
- Israel to mark October 7 attack as Gaza war spreads
- Gauff fights back to reach China Open final
- Recovering Stokes ruled out of first Pakistan Test
- Hezbollah battles troops on border as Israel pounds Lebanon
- Alcaraz, Sinner breeze into third round of Shanghai Masters
- Bagnaia wins Japan MotoGP sprint to cut Martin's lead
- Alcaraz breezes into third round of Shanghai Masters
- Gaza cultural heritage brought to light in Geneva
- 'Bullet for democracy': Trump returns to site of rally shooting
- Italy targets climate activists in 'anti-Gandhi' demo clampdown
- South Korean cult-horror series 'Hellbound' returns at BIFF
- Nepalis fear more floods as climate change melts glaciers
- Honduras arrests environmentalist's alleged murderer
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- Supreme Court lets stand rules to curb mercury, methane emissions
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Volkswagen trains sights on US as profits jump
Volkswagen's first-quarter net profit almost doubled as the German automaker looked anew to the North American market to drive growth after years of muted presence there over "dieselgate", company results showed Wednesday.
Over the first three months of the year, Volkswagen raked in a net profit of 6.7 billion euros ($7 billion), up from 3.4 billion euros in the same period last year.
The Wolfsburg-based group had shown "resilience" in the face of supply bottlenecks which have tormented automakers over the past year, CEO Herbert Diess said in a statement.
Volkswagen was able to "mitigate" the impact of supply bottlenecks for parts, such as semiconductors, by redistributing production across its global network of factories, Diess said.
The reduced availability of the chips, a key component in both conventional and electric vehicles made scarce by the coronavirus pandemic, forced intermittent stoppages at the carmaker last year.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine has added to supply chain disruptions, limiting the availability of cables produced in the region.
"Even in a more polarized world, Volkswagen is firmly committed to expanding its global footprint," Diess said.
At the centre of the strategy was North America, where the world's second-largest automotive group is aiming to more than double its market share to 10 percent by 2030
Volkswagen recorded its first profit in years in the region in 2021, overcoming the 2015 dieselgate emissions-cheating scandal, after which the group had scaled back its US operation.
The group -- whose 12 brands include Audi, Porsche and Skoda -- announced in March it was pumping $7.1 billion into its North American production facilities, while Diess has lavished attention on the region, promoting the reimagined ID.Buzz camper.
The electric mini-van, with its iconic place in American pop culture, was designed with the market in mind and reflects battery-powered vehicles' "central" role, according to the group.
Volkswagen otherwise confirmed preliminary figures, which saw its operating profit rise to 8.5 billion euros in the first quarter, up from 4.8 billion euros last year.
The group's first-quarter result was supported by a shift towards "higher equipped vehicles" with chunkier margins, chief financial officer Arno Antlitz said.
The changed emphasis enabled the auto giant to boost is figures despite delivering over 20 percent fewer cars, while bottlenecks have limited production.
A.Silveira--PC