Business Development

VEHICLE SALES

Volkswagen AG sold a total of 2,615,686 vehicles in fiscal year 2014, up 4.8% on the figure for the previous year. The proportion of vehicles sold outside Germany was 69.3% (70.5%).

PRODUCTION

Volkswagen AG produced a total of 1,230,891 vehicles at its vehicle production plants in Wolfsburg, Hanover and Emden in the reporting period, up 5.3% year-on-year. Volkswagen AG’s average daily production remained on a level with the previous year, at 5,068 units.

EMPLOYEES

As of December 31, 2014, a total of 112,561 people were employed at the sites of Volkswagen AG, excluding staff employed at subsidiaries. Of this figure, 5,044 were vocational trainees. 3,997 employees were in the passive phase of their partial retirement. The workforce grew by 4.7% as against the prior-year reporting date.

Female employees accounted for 16.2% of the workforce. Volkswagen AG employed 3,930 part-time workers (3.5%). The percentage of foreign employees was 5.8%. The proportion of employees in the production area who have completed vocational training relevant for Volkswagen was 82.7%. 17.5% of the employees were graduates. The average age of employees in fiscal year 2014 was 42.8 years.

RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

Research and development costs for Volkswagen AG under the German Commercial Code amounted to €4.9 billion (€4.4 billion) in 2014. 11,531 people were employed in this area at the end of the reporting period.

PURCHASING VOLUME

The purchasing volume across the six Volkswagen AG sites in Germany amounted to €27.2 billion in fiscal year 2014 (€26.2 billion); the proportion attributable to German suppliers was 67.7% (68.1%). Of the total purchasing volume, €21.7 billion was spent on production materials and €5.5 billion on capital goods and services.

EXPENDITURE ON ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

Expenditure on environmental protection measures is split between investments and operating costs for production-related environmental protection. Of our total investments, only those that are spent exclusively or primarily on environmental protection are included in environmental protection investments. We distinguish here between additive and integrated investments. Additive environmental protection measures are separate investments that are independent of other investments relating to the production process. They can be upstream or downstream of the production process. In contrast to additive environmental protection measures, the environmental impact is already reduced during the product development phase in the case of integrated measures. Our focus in 2014 was on water pollution control.

The operating costs recognized for environmental protection relate exclusively to production-related measures that protect the environment against harmful factors by avoiding, reducing, or eliminating emissions by the Company. Resources are also conserved. For example, these include expenditures incurred to operate equipment that protects the environment as well as expenditures for measures not relating to such equipment. Our focus in 2014 was on water pollution control, waste management and air pollution control.

OPERATING COSTS FOR ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AT VOLKSWAGEN AG 2014
Share of environmental protection areas in percent

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT RISKS AND OPPORTUNITIES AT VOLKSWAGEN AG

The business development of Volkswagen AG is exposed to essentially the same risks and opportunities as the Volkswagen Group. These risks and opportunities are explained in the Report on Risks and Opportunities of this annual report.

RISKS ARISING FROM FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS

Risks for Volkswagen AG arising from the use of financial instruments are the same as those to which the Volkswagen Group is exposed. An explanation of these risks can be found in the chapter “Financial risk” of this annual report.

DEPENDENT COMPANY REPORT

The Board of Management of Volkswagen AG has submitted to the Supervisory Board the report required by section 312 of the AktG and issued the following concluding declaration:

“We declare that, based on the circumstances known to us at the time when the transactions with affiliated companies within the meaning of section 312 of the German Stock Corporation Act (AktG) were entered into, our Company received appropriate consideration for each transaction. No transactions with third parties or measures were either undertaken or omitted on the instructions of or in the interests of Porsche or other affiliated companies in the reporting period.”

The Annual Financial Statements of Volkswagen AG (in accordance with the HGB) can be accessed from the electronic companies register at www.unternehmensregister.de.