All Press Releases
This is an overview of press releases of the Volkswagen Group. To stay informed, users can subscribe to the press releases of Volkswagen Group via e-mail service.
Press Release
TRATON increases offer for common shares of Navistar to USD 43.00
Today TRATON SE (“TRATON”), one of the world’s largest commercial vehicle manufacturers, increased its offer for all outstanding shares of common stock of Navistar International Corporation (“Navistar”) (NYSE: NAV) not already owned by TRATON to USD 43.00 per share in cash. The increased offer represents a 23% increase from the USD 35.00 per Navistar share that TRATON offered at the end of January. TRATON currently holds 16.8% of Navistar’s outstanding common shares.
Press Release
E-mobility forerunner Volkswagen ensures greater transparency in procurement of battery raw materials
As a forerunner of e-mobility, the Volkswagen Group is ensuring greater transparency and responsibility in its raw material supply chains for batteries. To that end, the company has entered a strategic partnership with RCS Global, an agency specializing in supply chain analysis. The focus is on auditing suppliers for conformance with human rights, safe working conditions and environmental protection along the supply chain all the way back to the mines.
Press Release
Volkswagen extends cooperation with independent Sustainability Council
The Volkswagen Group is extending cooperation with its independent Sustainability Council for a further two years. Volkswagen is thus continuing to vigorously pursue its sustainability targets with the focus on becoming carbon neutral by 2050. Furthermore, Rebecca Harms, former Member of the European Parliament, and Magdalena Gerger, CEO and President of the Swedish enterprise Systembolaget AB, have become new members of the Council. Herbert Diess, CEO of the Volkswagen Group, commented: “Sustainability is a key factor for the success of our company. Volkswagen will only confidently stride into the future if we undergo a transformation. The independent Sustainability Council acquires even greater significance for our Group as we make this transition. We want to intensify our dialog – a debate that also embraces criticism. With its independent expertise, the Sustainability Council is a driver and a corrective for our strategy.“
Press Release
Volkswagen sets course for green electricity to power all freight carried on Deutsche Bahn
Volkswagen Group Logistics is switching all Deutsche Bahn carriage of materials and vehicles within Germany to green electricity by the start of 2021. This will cut over 26,700 tonnes of CO₂ emissions a year compared to the conventional electricity mix. 95 per cent of all such transportation is already powered by green electricity. In addition even more freight is set to go by rail: Volkswagen aims to increase vehicle transportation by train from 53 per cent today up to 60 per cent by 2022. “With this green electricity offensive we are making an important contribution towards Group decarbonisation”, says Thomas Zernechel, Head of Volkswagen Group Logistics. For this purpose, Deutsche Bahn feeds in electricity from wind farms and hydropower plants.
Press Release
TRATON GROUP sees first signs of business recovery in third quarter
The TRATON GROUP recorded lower unit sales, sales revenue, and earnings in the first six months of 2020 in the wake of the expected market downturn in Europe and the significant impact of the global COVID-19 pandemic. Unit sales recorded by the three brands Scania, MAN and Volkswagen Caminhões e Ônibus from January to June contracted by 37% to 77,700 (H1 2019: 123,300) vehicles. At 38%, the decline in unit sales of trucks (including the MAN TGE van) to 70,500 (H1 2019: 113,100) vehicles was more significant than the 29% decrease in unit sales of buses to 7,200 (H1 2019: 10,200) vehicles. The first six months of 2019 were marked by pull-forward effects from the introduction of the digital tachograph and the potential for a no-deal Brexit, making the prior-period comparative basis exceptionally strong.
Press Release
Volkswagen Group measures reduce the effects of Covid-19 in the first half of the year
Business at the Volkswagen Group and its brands was strongly affected by the Covid-19 pan-demic in the first half of 2020. Countermeasures initiated at an early stage to reduce costs and safeguard liquidity were successful and therefore reduced the effects of the crisis. Due to production consistently oriented toward customer demand, the Group achieved a strin-gent inventory management and thus a significant decrease in funds tied up in working capital. Overall, net liquidity in the Automotive Division could be risen by EUR 0.9 billion compared with the first quarter of 2020 to EUR 18.7 billion, also due to the issuance of hy-brid notes amounting to EUR 3.0 billion. Deliveries to customers fell year-on-year by 27.4 percent to 3.9 (5.4) million vehicles. As a result, sales revenue decreased by 23.2 percent to EUR 96.1 (125.2) billion. Operating result before special items amounted to EUR –0.8 (10.0) billion. The main reason for this development was lower unit sales caused by the sharp fall in customer demand. The fair value measurement of derivatives to which hedge accounting is not applied (in particular commodity hedges) and exchange rate effects of EUR –0.9 billion are virtually offset by a non-cash gain of EUR 0.8 billion on the contribu-tion of Autonomous Intelligent Driving (AID) into the autonomous driving joint venture with Ford. Special items relating to the diesel issue weighed on the operating profit with EUR –0.7 (–1.0) billion. Earnings before tax decreased to EUR – 1.4 (9.6) billion.
Press Release
€3.75 bn debut syndicated revolving credit facility signed by TRATON SE
TRATON SE has signed its inaugural syndicated revolving credit facility in a total amount of €3.75 bn. The facility has a maturity of 3 years and can be extended twice for one year each (“3+1+1” years). The facility amount is provided by a consortium of 21 banks, thereby defining TRATON GROUP’s core relationship banks. The facility can be drawn in different currencies and serves for general corporate purposes and liquidity back-up to the Group, providing TRATON with additional financial flexibility at favorable terms.
Press Release
Volkswagen supports nonprofit “42Wolfsburg” programming school
Volkswagen is supporting the construction and operation of a free programming school in Wolfsburg. The association called “Verein 42Wolfsburg e.V.” is setting up an IT hotbed called “42Wolfsburg” in cooperation with the private, nonprofit École 42 based in France. It is planned to open the coding school in Markthalle Wolfsburg in early 2021. Volkswagen will be donating €3.7 million in the first year, and a further two million euros annually in the following years. Next year, up to 600 students are already expected to be training in Wolfsburg’s Markthalle under an innovative learning concept with no teachers or formal classes. They will learn their skills under a peer-learning concept.
Press Release
Standortsymposium in Kassel: Mit innovativen Produkten und Prozessen langfristig die Wettbewerbsfähigkeit sichern
Press Release
Volkswagen brings additional partners to Industrial Cloud
Volkswagen, together with Amazon Web Services (AWS) and integration partner Siemens, is opening up the Industrial Cloud to other manufacturing and technology companies. New partner companies will be able to connect with Volkswagen plants and to contribute their own software applications for optimizing production processes to the Industrial Cloud. This way, a rapidly growing range of industrial software applications for Volkswagen’s plants will be created. Each location will be able to obtain applications for its machinery, tools and equipment direct from the Industrial Cloud to optimize production (app store approach). The Volkswagen Group expects significant efficiency and productivity gains at its plants. The partner companies will be able to scale and further develop their applications in one of the world’s largest automobile production networks. This will also enable them to optimize their own processes and products. As a first step, eleven pioneering international companies, ABB, ASCon Systems, BearingPoint, Celonis, Dürr, GROB-WERKE, MHP, NavVis, SYNAOS, Teradata and WAGO, will be joining the Industrial Cloud.