#Strategy

A planned change has been effected among the employee representatives on the Supervisory Board of Volkswagen AG. The Chair of IG Metall, Christiane Benner, is taking over from her predecessor Jörg Hofmann and will thus also assume the role of Deputy to the Chair of the Supervisory Board, Hans Dieter Pötsch. At the same time, she will also replace Hofmann on the Executive Committee.

On March 11, 2025, the Volkswagen Group will publish the Full Year Results 2024.

On January 14, 2025, the Volkswagen Group published the deliveries for October to December 2024.

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.

Through our brands, business units, and financial services, we develop technologies and mobility solutions for the electric, digital, and autonomous mobility of the future.

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 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.

The collective bargaining committees of Volkswagen AG and the Lower Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt branches of IG Metall today continued discussions in the 2024 collective bargaining round in Wolfsburg. Ahead of the negotiations, IG Metall had additionally demanded that the company reinstate the collective agreements terminated by Volkswagen AG effective December 31, 2024, without any modification of content. Due to the economic crisis in the automotive industry, Volkswagen is unable to meet this demand. Nor is it able to meet the union’s demand for a 7 percent pay rise. Rather, the company believes that reducing pay by 10 percent would give Volkswagen AG the means to make future investments so as to remain competitive and hence safeguard jobs.

The Volkswagen Group expects deliveries to customers to be around 9 million vehicles (2023: 9.24 million vehicles). The company expects Group sales revenue to be around 320 billion euros (2023: 322.3 billion euros).

On October 30, 2024 the Volkswagen Group published the results for the third quarter 2024.