2022. In the first three months, the operating profit before special items increased to EUR 513 million (Q1 2021: EUR 490 million). Sales revenue came in at just under EUR 15 billion (Q1 2021: EUR 17.6 billion) due to an optimized model and price policy, while the number of deliveries in the same period came in at around one million vehicles (Q1 2021: 1.36 million) due to the war in Ukraine, the global semiconductor shortage and the most recent coronavirus measures in China. In contrast, the operating return on sales before special items rose to 3.4 percent (Q1 2021: 2.8 percent).

“We further improved our economic efficiency in a difficult environment. This underscores that Volkswagen has chosen the right path for achieving a lasting improvement in its competitiveness and profitability with the ACCELERATE strategy. We have therefore laid a very solid foundation for the accelerated transformation to zero-carbon and fully networked mobility,” says Volkswagen CEO Ralf Brandstätter.

Continued focus on cost efficiency – outlook for 2023 confirmed

Volkswagen is continuing to work hard on improving its cost efficiency – for example on further reducing its fixed costs and overheads – in order to strengthen its competitiveness long term. “We are currently facing different challenges such as the geopolitical uncertainty, commodity and energy price hikes and the effects of the pandemic in China. We’re working to counter these risks with our cost-cutting measures and by improving the quality of our operating result in specific areas. However, we’re sticking to our target of an operating return on sales of 6 percent in 2023,” said Volkswagen CFO Alexander Seitz. This forecast is contingent on how the war in Ukraine evolves and in particular on its impact on the global economy and thus on the Volkswagen brand’s business activities. Customer demand remains high for both ICE and electric models.

Further sharp rise in unit sales of all-electric models

53,400 all-electric vehicles (BEVs) were delivered in the first three months (+74 percent). The fully electric ID.4 plays a key role in this. More than one in two electric vehicles delivered was an ID.4, of which 30,300 units were handed over to customers. Volkswagen is now pressing ahead with the expansion of production capacity for its best-selling electric car. On May 20, 2022, the plant in Emden will start series production of the ID.4, creating additional capacity for the successful model. The ID.4 will also roll off the production line in Chattanooga in the United States in the second half of the year. The models of the entire ID. family continue to enjoy buoyant demand, with over 120,000 customer orders being placed for the ID. models in Europe alone.

The backlog of orders across all drive types reached a historic high of more than 670,000 vehicles in Europe alone. The Group is therefore working hard on keeping delivery times for customers as low as possible and processing the large backlog of orders swiftly.

Article source: www.volkswagen-newsroom.com

The electrification of Astypalea is picking up speed: The Volkswagen Group has delivered the first electric cars to private customers on the Greek island. A turquoise ID.3 Pure was handed over to its new owner directly at the windmills of Chora, the main town on Astypalea. Further deliveries included the ID.4 and e-up! as well as the Seat MÓ eScooter 125. As a result, the e-fleet on Astypalea is further growing, after the local authorities have been using electric vehicles already since last year. The "Smart & Sustainable Island" project is a joint initiative of the Volkswagen Group and the Hellenic Republic. In the coming years, Astypalea will be converted into an island where the mobility will be smart and sustainable, and the energy system will be completely renewed.

Thanos Papagiannis, the first ID.3 customer on Astypalea, is a firm advocate of e-mobility. His new electric vehicle replaces a Volkswagen Golf 3: "E-mobility is a perfect match for Astypalea. The distances here are short, the power consumption is low, and the charging network is now very well developed. I really hope that Astypalea will inspire other regions to increase their efforts for climate protection adopting e-mobility solutions. "

Maik Stephan, Head of Business Development of Volkswagen Group and Project Manager, emphasizes: "Astypalea is a laboratory for the mobility of the future. The island is experiencing the same change as any other region in Europe, only in a much shorter time. With the first private customers driving electric now, word will quickly get around how fascinating e-mobility is."

Volkswagen’s commitment to the sustainable development of Astypalea goes even beyond the electrification of the vehicle fleet. Recently, the Volkswagen importer for Greece Kosmocar and the Municipality launched a recycling initiative aiming at freeing the island from scrap vehicles. Broken motorcycles, cars and trucks are simply left behind in many places, polluting the beautiful island of Astypalea. The recycling campaign is intended to eliminate the associated environmental impact and at the same time make the island even more beautiful. The vehicles are first collected by volunteers, then brought by ship to Athens and finally professionally recycled there.

The next milestone of the "Smart & Sustainable Island" project will be coming soon: In summer, Volkswagen will launch innovative, all-electric mobility services together with local companies. Ride sharing and vehicle sharing are designed to improve mobility while helping to reduce the total number of vehicles on the island.

Article source: www.volkswagen-newsroom.com

The Volkswagen Group is launching a major quality offensive in terms of charging and energy. The volume brands Volkswagen, Cupra/Seat and ŠKODA are now offering simple tariffs for public charging, allowing customers to charge at fixed kilowatt-hour prices throughout the entire charging network. With this step, the company creates optimal cost transparency. At the same time, the Volkswagen Group is further expanding its European charging network: E-car drivers can now use more than 310,000 charging points throughout Europe, including around 10,000 fast chargers at over 3,000 locations. Volkswagen is also planning a comprehensive partner program to increase the comfort at charging parks.

"In the electric age, charging and energy are of the utmost strategic importance. For example, for many customers who consider an e-car, a home charging option is still a must. We cannot be satisfied with that limitation. With NEW AUTO, we have therefore taken these issues into our own hands and are ourselves investing in comfort, quality and expansion of the charging network on behalf of our customers. This is a strong team effort by our volume brands and the Group! Our goal is to get everyone excited about e-mobility," says Thomas Schmall, Volkswagen Group Board Member for Technology and CEO of Volkswagen Group Components.

Hildegard Wortmann, Group Board Member for Sales, adds: "As part of the NEW AUTO strategy, we are consistently working with our Group brands towards the goal of becoming the market leader in e-mobility. To this end, we are building a complete ecosystem for our customers, which also includes the key topic of charging. We want to offer them a fully integrated, comfortable and all-round positive charging experience that they won't find anywhere else."

In the future, customers will have the choice between three basic tariffs, each with fixed prices per kilowatt hour charged. The new tariffs apply to customers of We Charge (Volkswagen), Powerpass (ŠKODA), Easy Charging (SEAT/CUPRA) and Elli and offer top conditions for Ionity fast chargers, among other benefits. Volkswagen is thus following the wishes of our customers who are clearly in favour of transparent fixed prices. Depending on the country, prices can be different, but always follow the same logic. Elli, our in-house brand, which is responsible for all activities in the Group around the topic of charging & energy is the backbone of the offer.

More convenience through Plug&Charge and "Selected Partner" program

The quality offensive also includes a "Selected Partner" program together with charging park operators. In the future, particularly convenient charging stations will be highlighted in the e-cars navigation system and drivers will be offered the option of choosing to drive there. The quality criteria will include reliability, weather protection and if there is a catering option. This means that customers will be able to target charging stations with a canopy and coffee offering. The program is scheduled to start later this year.

Another component of the quality offensive is the market launch of Plug&Charge. The function will be activated from the middle of the year via a software update in all e-cars of the volume brands based on the MEB architecture. The vehicle identifies itself at the corresponding charging stations using the ISO 15118 standard and automatically starts the charging process. Plug&Charge is supported by IONITY, Aral/bp, E.ON and Iberdrola, among others. Other partners are already preparing to join the offer.

"We want to offer our customers an optimal charging experience and make the e-car an uncompromisingly first-time vehicle choice. For this reason, we are emphatically addressing the issues of price transparency, network expansion and charging comfort. With the "Selected Partner" program, we will offer e-car drivers a quick and clear overview of the best charging options on their route. This will bring a new quality dynamic to the expansion of the charging network," says Elke Temme, CEO Volkswagen Group Charging GmbH (Elli) and Senior Vice President Charging & Energy Volkswagen Group Components.

NEW AUTO: Greatest commitment of the automotive industry

With NEW AUTO, the Volkswagen Group has made charging and energy its core business. Like no other car manufacturer, the company is investing in the development of an open fast-charging network worldwide. By 2025, around 45,000 High Power Charging (HPC) points are planned in Europe, China and the USA together with partners. The product range also includes the entire range of charging solutions for private customers and companies – from the company's own wallbox and flexible fast charging station to charging services and innovative, smart green electricity tariffs. In the next step, Volkswagen will anchor the electric car as a mobile power bank in the energy system creating additional added value for e-car customers.

Article source: www.volkswagen-newsroom.com

Today the press conference of the exhibition "Motion. Autos, Art, Architecture" took place at the world-famous Guggenheim Museum Bilbao. The initiator and curator of the unique show, iconic architect and visionary Sir Norman Foster, spoke together with Dr. Herbert Diess (Chairman of the Board of Volkswagen AG), Ignacio Gálan (Chairman and CEO Iberdrola) and museum director Juan Ignacio Vidarte about the history of the automobile and the mobility of the future. “Motion” presents around 40 exceptional cars along with artworks by Andy Warhol, Donald Judd, Giacomo Balla and others. In the Future Gallery sketches and models from students give a glimpse into how mobility might look like in the year 2086. The universities cooperated with Bentley Motors Limited, UK and Volkswagen, among others. The sponsorship of the exhibition in Bilbao is part of Volkswagen's international cultural engagement as well as an expression of the support of cultural concerns in the vicinity of the Spanish Volkswagen facilities.

"Motion. Autos, Art, Architecture" tells the story from the original idea of a car up to possible scenarios in the decades to come, putting the focus on how this development has been reflected with creative measures. The exhibition addresses influences on industrial and product design sparked by the experience of speed, freedom and flexibility. Room is also given to transformations of urban areas and unfavorable effects on the environment caused by the extensive popularity of the car. It then culminates in a series of concepts for future ways to satisfy individual mobility needs.

15 leading universities from all over the world with a focus on design, architecture, technology or art have developed sketches and models that envision life and forms of mobility in the year 2086 – the 200th birthday of the automobile. The cooperation with the Yale School of Architecture and Volkswagen Group Design under the direction of Klaus Zyciora has created the "futureNOMAD" project. The interdisciplinary ideas are an attempt to find possible responses to the upcoming ecological and social challenges of our world.

The exhibition's curator, Sir Norman Foster, summarized the project mission: "This exhibition celebrates the art of the automobile design and explores its cultural links to art and architecture. It could be a requiem for the age of combustion as it makes a leap into the future with a gallery devoted to the work of fifteen schools of design and architecture, who have been invited to imagine mobility at the end of this century – coincident with the 200th anniversary of the birth of the automobile."

Herbert Diess, Chairman of the Board of Management of Volkswagen AG, remarks at the opening of the exhibition: “Mobility is still a highly emotional subject. The power of design, of a brand and its identity remain key. Autonomous driving increases the opportunities for benefitting from mobility, for enjoying more comfort, and improved safety in particular. And mobility reduces its negative facets as it becomes more sustainable. The MOTION exhibition at the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao fuses technological innovation with aesthetics and emotions, and it provides promising and motivating ideas for a future in a rapidly and radically changing world.”

The exhibition features around forty original automobiles including selected cars from the Group's collection: a 1951 Volkswagen Beetle and a 1962 Volkswagen Typ 2. A sound installations realized with the support of Pink-Floyd drummer Nick Mason, gives an acoustic insight into the history of the car – finalizing with the sound installation of the sound of an ID. Buzz.

The sponsorship of the exhibition in Bilbao is part of Volkswagen's international cultural engagementVolkswagen's collaborations include a multi-year partnership with Neue Nationalgalerie and Hamburger Bahnhof, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, a partnership with documenta fifteen, and continuous support of the international work of the Dresden Music Festival. The activities are vital elements for Volkswagen to assume corporate social responsibility and empower a free, forward-looking and inspirational dialogue between people.

Article source: www.volkswagen-newsroom.com