All Press Releases

Volkswagen presented its plan for transforming the Group into a software-driven mobility company with a strong focus on its powerful brands and global technology platforms, providing synergies and scale as well as opening up new profit pools. “We set ourselves a strategic target to become global market leader in electric vehicles – and we are well on track. Now we are setting new parameters,” said CEO Herbert Diess during the presentation of NEW AUTO, the Group’s strategy through 2030. “Based on software, the next much more radical change is the transition towards much safer, smarter and finally autonomous cars. That means for us: Technology, speed and scale will matter more than today. The future of cars will be bright!”

Volkswagen Group and Gotion High-Tech Co., Ltd. deepen their partnership. Based on a substantial shareholding agreement in May 2020, the Wolfsburg-based automobile company entered a strategic cooperation framework with the major Chinese battery producer headquartered at Hefei. The goals of both partners are to industrialize the planned battery cell production at the Salzgitter site of Volkswagen Group Components and to develop first use cases of the Volkswagen unified cell concept for the volume segment. Both projects are part of the overarching plan of Volkswagen Group ‒ outlined at the Power Day event in March ‒ to significantly reduce battery complexity and costs while boosting range and charging performance in order to make the electric car still more attractive.

Enel X, the Enel Group’s advanced energy solutions business line, and the leading auto manufacturer Volkswagen Group signed an agreement aimed at setting up a full function joint venture of equal partners to enhance the electric vehicle (EV) uptake in Italy (the “JV”). The JV will operate in Italy as Charging Point Operator (“CPO”) by investing in, deploying between 2021 and 2025, owning and operating a high power charging (HPC) network. The network will count on more than 3,000 charging points of up to 350 kW each across the national territory. The charging network will enable a comfortable ride with electric vehicles from North to South of the Peninsula.

Decarbonization, energy, environmental compliance, biodiversity, water, waste and the circular economy – these are the topics of the Volkswagen Group “goTOzero weeks,” a new series of environmental events that is starting today and will be held through November in the company’s brands, regions and departments. The Group-wide campaign is designed to share information and promote cross-brand networking among the Volkswagen Group employees. The program will include events, talks by experts and many digital workshops and information programs provided by the brands Volkswagen, Audi, SEAT, ŠKODA, Bentley, Porsche, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, Volkswagen Group Components, the China region and various departments. The company’s production facilities will be a driving force behind the Volkswagen Group’s transformation into a carbon neutral company. Their use of renewable power will be a critically important element in the company’s entire decarbonization strategy.

Dr. Herbert Diess will stay at the helm of the Volkswagen Group until October 2025. On Friday, the Supervisory Board of Volkswagen AG approved a new service contract with a corresponding term. This means that Dr. Diess will remain the Chairman of the Board of Management until his 67th birthday. The Supervisory Board was also informed of Strategy 2030 on Friday, and sees this strategy as the basis for future growth.

As the EU Commission prepares to present its Fit for 55 legislative package, the European CEO Alliance has issued policy recommendations supporting a progressive and ambitious push to achieve climate neutrality. Tackling climate change requires strong collaboration between the public sector and industry, the Alliance announced after its meeting today in Paris. The Alliance would welcome a review of the EU’s major regulatory instruments, in particular subsidies for technologies with high CO₂ emissions. The CEOs’ proposals include sending a strong carbon pricing signal, accelerating measures to decarbonize mobility and transport, buildings and energy systems, speeding up the renewal of key industry sectors in the EU.

Former Chairman of the Board of Management of Volkswagen, Prof. Dr. Carl H. Hahn, celebrates his 95th birthday on 1st July 2021. This provides the perfect opportunity to take a look back at the career of a man still looking ahead with curiosity and great openness ¬– characteristics that made him highly successful as a manager and defined his ten years as Chairman of the Board of Management at Volkswagen in Wolfsburg. From an early stage, Hahn believed in success in China and was the first to realign the automobile industry in Saxony after the reunification of Germany.

For the third time, the Goethe-Institut is bringing leading personalities and innovative ideas from around the world together to discuss the pressing issues of our society. Voices from culture, science, politics and economics are set to debate generational issues in many areas of life in the upcoming digital edition.

Volkswagen is participating, with a contribution of US$620 million (about €500 million), in a financing round of its Swedish battery partner Northvolt AB with a total volume of US$2.75 billion. The Group will thus maintain its stake in the company constant at about 20 percent. The funds are to be used for capacity expansion in the fields of production, recycling and research and development. Among other activities, Northvolt intends to expand the capacity of its Northvolt Ett gigafactory in Skellefteå, Northern Sweden from 40 GWh to 60 GWh per year, in order to meet higher demand from customers.

Several companies have initiated a “Responsible Lithium Partnership” aiming to work towards responsible natural resource management, including lithium, in Chile’s Salar de Atacama. This cross-industry partnership is funded at its inception by Volkswagen Group, BASF, Daimler AG, and Fairphone. The partnership intends to foster a dialogue among local stakeholders, generating and synthesizing scientific facts and seeking solutions in a participatory manner.