A Volkswagen I.D. CROZZ on display at the Shanghai Auto Show on April 18, 2017.
Meghan Reeder | CNBC
Volkswagen reported one of its highest-ever quarterly group profits even as vehicle sales declined, a sign that long-overdue cost cuts are materializing as the carmaker pushes to overcome its emissions scandal.
First-quarter group operating profit jumped 40 percent to 4.37 billion euros ($4.77 billion) from 3.13 billion a year ago, Volkswagen (VW) said on Wednesday, joining rivals Daimler and BMW which have also reported better-than-expected quarterly results.
Results were helped by improving cost savings at VW's troubled core division, the carmaker said, sticking with expectations for the full-year group operating margin to come in between 6 and 7 percent after 6.7 percent in 2016.