Is Volkswagen (XTRA:VOW3) Rebalancing Its Autonomous Strategy Or Merely Managing Legal Risk?

• Volkswagen Group recently appointed Ludwig Fazel as Head of Group Strategy, Group Product Strategy and the General Secretariat, while also facing a new U.S. patent infringement lawsuit over automated driving technologies filed by Perrone Robotics.
• This combination of a refreshed strategy leadership role and legal scrutiny around core autonomous driving software could influence how investors assess Volkswagen’s long-term technology roadmap and execution.
• We’ll now explore how Fazel’s expanded strategy remit, set against the Perrone Robotics lawsuit, could reshape Volkswagen’s existing investment narrative.

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Volkswagen Investment Narrative Recap

To own Volkswagen today, you need to believe the group can convert its global scale and technology spending into better margins, while managing high capital needs and tough BEV competition. The Perrone Robotics lawsuit puts a spotlight on Volkswagen’s automated driving software, but on its own it does not appear to change the near term earnings recovery catalyst or the main risk around cash hungry investment programs.

Fazel’s appointment as Head of Group Strategy and Group Product Strategy looks most relevant here, because his background in components, platforms and partnerships sits right at the intersection of autonomous driving, BEVs and cost efficiency, which are central to the company’s earnings growth narrative.

Yet investors should be aware that Volkswagen’s heavy ongoing investment in BEVs and autonomous driving could...

Read the full narrative on Volkswagen (it's free!)

Volkswagen's narrative projects €352.0 billion revenue and €15.8 billion earnings by 2028. This requires 2.8% yearly revenue growth and about a €7.4 billion earnings increase from €8.4 billion today.

Uncover how Volkswagen's forecasts yield a €111.60 fair value, a 6% upside to its current price.

Exploring Other Perspectives

Fourteen members of the Simply Wall St Community currently estimate Volkswagen’s fair value anywhere between €68.40 and €486.43 per share, showing how far apart individual views can be. Set against this spread, the group’s high capital intensity and pressure on free cash flow remain central issues that could shape how these different valuations play out over time.

Explore 14 other fair value estimates on Volkswagen - why the stock might be worth over 4x more than the current price!

Build Your Own Volkswagen Narrative

Disagree with existing narratives? Create your own in under 3 minutes - extraordinary investment returns rarely come from following the herd.

• A great starting point for your Volkswagen research is our analysis highlighting 3 key rewards and 4 important warning signs that could impact your investment decision.
• Our free Volkswagen research report provides a comprehensive fundamental analysis summarized in a single visual - the Snowflake - making it easy to evaluate Volkswagen's overall financial health at a glance.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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