Volkswagen Dropped from Euro Stoxx 50, Index Removal Intensifies Pressure on Automaker

Published on 21/09/2026

Europe’s largest automaker, Volkswagen, has been excluded from the eurozone’s blue-chip index.

Index provider Stoxx confirmed the change during its annual review at the start of September, effective before Monday’s trading session. Nokia and French utility Engie joined the index, while Dutch information-services group Wolters Kluwer was also removed.

The removal is a mechanical outcome rather than a qualitative judgment, as the index is weighted by free-float market value, and Volkswagen’s declining valuation fell below the required threshold.

However, the consequences are significant, as funds tracking the benchmark are now required to sell their Volkswagen holdings, adding downward pressure on an already strained stock. Stellantis experienced a similar fate last year.

Volkswagen shares have dropped nearly 30% year-to-date and declined over 6% since last Monday’s opening, trading at approximately €76 at the time of writing.

Compounding Profit Warning

The timing could hardly be worse.

On Friday, Volkswagen announced approximately €10 billion in one-off charges and reduced its 2026 operating margin forecast to no more than 1%, down from a previous range of 4% to 5.5%, while analysts had expected 4.1%.

Over €6 billion of these charges stem from a writedown at Porsche, in which Volkswagen holds a 75.4% stake, after the sports carmaker lowered its medium-term expectations.

Porsche has been heavily impacted by American tariffs and weak Chinese demand for foreign luxury brands, managing a margin of just 1.1% last year.

An additional €2 billion or more covers expanded early retirement schemes, impairments in China, and the planned sale of Volkswagen Osnabrück GmbH, a wholly owned subsidiary and automotive manufacturing plant in northwest Germany.

The company warned of “further deterioration in the market environment, particularly in China, along with an accelerated shift in demand toward battery-electric vehicles.”

This warning came two weeks after the company agreed to its largest-ever restructuring, doubling planned job cuts to 100,000 and halving its model lineup.

However, not everyone views the numbers as a collapse.

Excluding one-off items, Volkswagen estimates its underlying margin at around 4% and maintained its cash flow and liquidity forecasts.

Deutsche Bank, which rates the shares a buy with a €115 price target, stated it believes “the headline significantly overstates the deterioration in the underlying business.”

The bank does not expect the pain to end there, noting that “additional restructuring charges simply confirm that the transformation process is very expensive and complex […] we expect more to follow over the coming months.”

Volkswagen’s third-quarter results are scheduled for 29 October.

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