All Press Releases

E.ON Board Member for Customer Solutions Patrick Lammers and Volkswagen Group Board Member for Technology Thomas Schmall put in operation the first E.ON Drive Booster in Essen. The innovative product makes fast charging easier and more affordable for operators and customers. As a flexible fast charger, it requires no civil engineering work or adjustments to the grid connection and can charge two electric vehicles simultaneously with 150 kW. This means the expansion of a dense public network of fast-charging stations – as is essential for the future success of e-mobility – can become a reality much sooner than was previously assumed.

The consortium of Volkswagen Group, Attestor Limited and Pon Holdings B.V., together acting as Green Mobility Holding S.A., has filed its proposed tender offer for the shares of Europcar Mobility Group with the French Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) today.

Volkswagen Group Components today opened one of the most modern laboratories for cell research and development in Europe in Salzgitter. Thus, the company is further expanding its expertise in battery technology and taking the next step towards developing and producing its own battery cells for electromobility. From 2025 onwards, the Volkswagen unified cell is scheduled to roll off the production line in Salzgitter. In the future, around 250 experts will conduct research in the areas of cell development, analytics and testing in a total of four laboratories. Volkswagen is investing around 70 million euros in the facilities.

On the occasion of the internationally anticipated reopening of the Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin on August 22, Volkswagen and Nationalgalerie – Staatliche Museen zu Berlin are going to announce a two-year extension of their long-lasting partnership. This step underlines stability and sustainability of this collaboration which will particularly aim on prolonging and expanding the Volkswagen ART4ALL visitor program.

The Volkswagen Group continued its positive business performance and posted a record result despite challenging conditions in the first half of 2021. This positive development was driven in particular by the premium brands Audi and Porsche and by Volkswagen Financial Services. The impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic and global shortage of semiconductors were successfully contained. There was high customer demand for the Group’s attractive model range as markets continued to recover. As a result, deliveries increased by 27.9 percent to 5.0 (3.9) million vehicles over the weaker prior-year period, which was impacted by the pandemic. Sales revenue even rose more strongly by 34.9 percent to EUR 129.7 (96.1) billion. The operating result was EUR 11.4 (first half of 2020 before special items: EUR –0.8) billion, far exceeding the previous record of EUR 10.0 billion (before special items) from the pre-crisis year 2019. The operating return on sales was therefore at a strong 8.8 (first half of 2020 before special items: –0.8) percent. The higher earnings were mainly due to increased vehicle sales, improvements in the product mix and prices as well as positive effects from the valuation of raw material hedges. One-off restructuring expenses of EUR 0.7 billion had a negative impact. Work on ongoing fixed cost programs was vigorously pursued. The Automotive Division generated a very high adjusted net cash flow of EUR 12.3 (–2.3) billion and thus again demonstrated the great efficiency of its business model. The Division’s net liquidity rose further to a very solid level of EUR 35.0 billion. The acquisition of Navistar and its financial impact are not included in the figures. As a result of the extremely good business performance in the first half of the year, the Volkswagen Group has raised the outlook for its operating return on sales for full year 2021 by 0.5 percent to 6.0 to 7.5 percent.

The Volkswagen Group is taking a major step forward in its NEW AUTO strategy to become a leading provider of individual mobility in the electric and fully connected age. In a consortium with London-based asset manager Attestor Limited and Dutch mobility provider Pon Holdings B.V., Volkswagen agreed to launch a recommended takeover offer for Europcar Mobility Group (“Europcar”). Europcar is the leading mobility service and rental car company in Europe with over 3,500 stations across 140+ countries and a fleet of over 350,000 vehicles in 2019, serving over 5 million customers per year. The minimum acceptance threshold for the takeover offer is 67% and existing shareholders holding 68% in Europcar have committed to accept the takeover offer.

The Annual General Meeting of Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft took place today online for the second time due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The shareholders voted by a majority of 99.99 percent to approve the recommendation of the Board of Management and the Supervisory Board to pay the same dividend as in the previous two years of 4.80 EUR per ordinary share and 4.86 EUR per preferred share for fiscal year 2020. As in fiscal years 2018 and 2019, approximately 2.4 billion EUR will therefore be distributed to shareholders. The resolution on the formal approval of the actions of the members of the Board of Management and the Supervisory Board who held office in 2020 was passed.

The Volkswagen Group considers itself well equipped for a zero-emission and autonomous future of mobility. “With our NEW AUTO strategy, we will reinvent Volkswagen by 2030," said CEO Herbert Diess at the virtual Annual General Meeting of the Volkswagen Group. "The cars on our roads will be sustainable, safe, smart and ultimately autonomous within the next ten years. Individual mobility has a bright future. With our strong brands and global technology platforms, we have a clear plan to play a leading role in the new world of mobility, too.”

Volkswagen is the first automaker to transport most of its new vehicles overseas using low-emission LNG ships (LNG – liquefied natural gas). After the first two LNG car carriers entered service in 2020, Volkswagen Group Logistics has now ordered four more ships with dual-fuel engines that can be powered with environmentally friendly liquid gas. They should be traveling the world’s oceans by the end of 2023, serving the North American route between Emden in Germany and Veracruz in Mexico. On the return trip, the LNG ships will transport new vehicles destined for Europe. Soon, six of the nine car carriers crossing the North Atlantic for Volkswagen will be powered by LNG.