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Following intensive negotiations between Volkswagen AG, IG Metall and the Works Council, a joint agreement entitled ‘Zukunft Volkswagen’ [Future Volkswagen] has been concluded. The company and the Works Council are thereby jointly positioning Volkswagen AG for sustainable success. To this end, the company is realigning production capacities at Volkswagen AG's German locations. To this end, the company is realigning production capacities at Volkswagen AG's German locations. It is creating the conditions for a reduction in labour costs of €1.5 billion per year at the collectively agreed level with an agreement on the company wage settlement until 2030. The short-term reduction in labour costs and the agreed structural measures through capacity reduction and a decrease in development costs will lead to cost savings of over €4 billion per year in the medium term. In addition, a reduction in capacity of 734,000 units across the German plants is planned. This will enable Volkswagen AG to lay the foundation for important investments in future products through to 2030. The structural realignment of the company at an operational and collective level will create the conditions for achieving the return-on-sales target for the Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand in the medium term.

PowerCo SE, Volkswagen Group’s battery company, and Patriot Battery Metals Inc. (TSX: PMET | ASX: PMT | OTCQX: PMETF | FSE: R9GA) today announced they have entered into a strategic partnership. This is the first investment for PowerCo and Volkswagen in the lithium supply chain, underlining PowerCo’s ambition to execute on its vertical integration strategy – from mine to battery. The partnership ensures the long-term supply of lithium raw materials through a binding offtake commitment. Additionally, the companies will jointly explore further strategic opportunities such as a downstream lithium supply chain with a focus on cost competitiveness, high ESG standards and long-term security.

PowerCo SE relies on climate-friendly electricity for the operation of its cell factories. For the Salzgitter gigafactory, it has now concluded the first long-term purchase agreements with the green energy producers Alterric and EnviTec Biogas AG. From 2025, they will supply around 240 gigawatt hours per year from wind power (Alterric) and around 65 gigawatt hours from solar energy (EnviTec Biogas AG). Over the entire term of ten years, this will result in a total of 3 terawatt hours of green electricity, which will be used to operate the Salzgitter gigafactory.

The negotiating committees of Volkswagen AG and IG Metall Lower Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt continued negotiations on the 2024 collective bargaining round in Wolfsburg today. The fourth round of negotiations on Volkswagen AG's in-house collective agreement focused on an in-depth exchange of views on all aspects of the current collective bargaining process. The demands and proposals of both the IG Metall and the company were discussed collaboratively.

The Volkswagen Group will launch its first ever cross-brand communication campaign in the coming weeks and months to stimulate interest in finding out about electromobility. It will dis-tribute clear facts and transparent messages in a wide range of formats to counter myths that are still widely believed.

Today, the Volkswagen Group has informed its retail partners in selected European markets that it will initiate a joint review of its sales model. While the ‘Direct to Customer’ approach with a Full Agency remains the long-term ambition, changing framework conditions might require changes in the short- to mid-term to ensure the best possible customer experience. Due to the slower transition to electric mobility across the industry, two sales models for private customers would need to be operated in parallel longer than originally anticipated: The Agency model for all-electric vehicles (BEVs) and the indirect sales model for vehicles with other drivetrains. Maintaining this high level of complexity for an extended period of time would be a key challenge for the sales organization. Therefore, a joint review process with the wholesale and retail organizations will start immediately to determine whether returning to an indirect sales model for BEVs might be a favourable alternative for the short- to mid-term. Results of this process are expected around the end of Q1 2025.

The Volkswagen Group is consistently advancing its “In China, for China” strategy. The company is strengthening its successful 40-year partnership with SAIC Motor for the long term. In Shanghai, both companies signed an extension of their joint venture agreement until the year 2040. By extending the agreement, the partners are creating early planning security beyond 2030 in a very dynamic development phase of the Chinese automotive market. At the same time, Volkswagen and SAIC are accelerating the transformation of their joint venture company, SAIC VOLKSWAGEN, in the areas of product portfolio, production, and decarbonization. The shared goal of the partners is to achieve a leading market position for SAIC VOLKSWAGEN with the Volkswagen Passenger Cars and Audi brands in the era of intelligent, fully connected electric vehicles.

The negotiating committees of Volkswagen AG and IG Metall Lower Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt continued negotiations on the 2024 collective bargaining round in Wolfsburg today. In the run-up, the employee side had responded to the company's demands to secure the future viability of Volkswagen AG with a counter-proposal. In it, IG Metall signaled its openness to a reduction in labor costs and capacities.

The Volkswagen Group appoints Kjell Gruner as CEO of Volkswagen Group of America effective December 12. Gruner succeeds Pablo Di Si, who has stepped down from his position last week on his own request. Until Kjell Gruner takes office, Gerrit Spengler, CHRO of Volkswagen Group of America, will perform the function of interim CEO.

Rivian Automotive (NASDAQ: RIVN) and Volkswagen Group (XETRA: VOW / VOW3) entered into a transaction agreement to create their new joint venture (JV) – “Rivian and VW Group Technology, LLC”, known as Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies - with a total deal size of up to $5.8 billion, which is expected to start on November 13. Through this JV, the companies plan to bring next-generation electrical architecture and best-in-class software technology for both companies’ future electric vehicles, covering all relevant vehicle segments, including subcompact cars. It is highly complementary reflecting Rivian’s industry-leading software and electrical hardware technology as well as Volkswagen Group’s significant global scale and industry-leading vehicle platform competencies.