Volkswagen CEO says 2022 outlook clouded by war in Ukraine

BERLIN (Reuters) – Volkswagen CEO Herbert Diess said the full impact of the war in Ukraine was not yet clear and is throwing the German carmaker’s 2022 outlook into question.

“Under normal circumstances, we would have any reason to look optimistically into 2022,” Diess said during a speech at the company’s annual media conference on Tuesday.

The war in Ukraine is already having an effect on raw materials and supply chains, he said.

The company is building up additional capacities for wiring harnesses for Europe and shifting car production to regions such as China and the Americas in response, added Diess.

(Reporting by Miranda Murray and Victoria Waldersee, editing by Emma Thomasson)