FRANKFURT, July 25 (Reuters) - Europe's biggest carmaker, Volkswagen AG , said on Friday start-up costs for new models had taken about 600 million euros off its pre-tax profit in the first half, implying costs of 300 million in the second quarter.
VW, which is in the middle of a massive product overhaul, also saw first-half pre-tax earnings boosted by around 200 million euros due to write-ups on equity investments, according to slides on its website from a management presentation due later on Friday.
Writedowns on equity investments sliced 200 million euros off the company's pre-tax profit in the first quarter, which implies a 400 million euro write-up in the second quarter.