Archiv 2006

Standard & Poor’s raised the long-term and short-term credit rating of Volkswagen Bank GmbH from ‘A-/A-2’ to ‘A/A-1’. The outlook remains stable. „We appreciate this decision. It provides clear evidence for our solid and rewarding business strategy”, emphasizes Burkhard Breiing, Chairman of the Board of Volkswagen Financial Ser-vices AG.

Volkswagen Financial Services AG has completed the foundation of a reinsurance company with its entry into the commercial register. Through its wholly owned subsidiary Volkswagen Reinsurance AG, Europe's largest provider of automotive financial services is now in a position in the future to develop intelligent rating features for its tariffs and vehicle insurance products for motorists driving Volkswagen Group brands.

The Volkswagen financial service providers can look back on the most successful market launch in their history. The financial service promotion "FairP(l)ay", introduced as part of the Volks-wagen Goal Weeks, has led to a rise in financing con-tracts within the new vehicle business of 61 percent to around 24,000 contracts since its market launch on 17th February. The number of new vehicle insurance con-tracts could be increased by no less than 119 percent compared with the same period last year to around 22,000 contracts.

In the current comparison of financing options carried out by the consumer magazine FINANZtest, Volkswagen Bank and Audi Bank occupy first place. Customers are said to receive the most attractive financing offers for the Volkswagen and Audi car models tested from the Volkswagen Group's own financial service providers. The conclusion from the consumer advisors: "Three-option financing and classic financing often beat cash purchases."

Volkswagen Financial Services AG reports positive business results for the year 2005. Although the total assets were down 3.8 percent to 39.8 billion euros, the reduction was chiefly due to the impact of special items in the previous year. This primarily involved the reserve liquidity maintained for the purchase of LeasePlan Corporation N.V. Without these influences, total assets would have grown by 2.7 percent. The pre-tax result increased by 22.8 percent to 696 million euros. "Apart from the solid business result that was recorded, the first full-year inclusion of the profit contribution of LeasePlan Corporation N.V. and the result from derivative financial instruments have had a positive impact on the pre-tax figures", the Chairman of the Management Board of Volkswagen Financial Services AG, Burkhard Breiing, stressed at the balance-sheet annual press conference in Frankfurt.

Volkswagen Financial Services AG is taking over the responsibility for coordinating the worldwide financial services activities of the Volkswagen Group. The wholly owned subsidiary of Volkswagen Group currently manages the activities in Europe and in the Asia-Pacific region. „Financial services belong to our core competencies. While applying common steering principles worldwide, we aim to strengthen the knowledge transfer and to exploit new growth potential to improve our profit contribution“, says Hans Dieter Pötsch, Member of the Board of Management of Volkswagen AG and Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Volkswagen Financial Services AG.