Press Release

Braunschweig/Hildesheim 23 February 2018. Volkswagen Financial Services and the University of Hildesheim have signed a three-year cooperation agreement. As well as promoting the transfer of knowledge and the development of joint research projects in the pioneering field of big data analytics, the aim is also to intensify contacts at the graduate level between Europe's largest provider of automobile financial services and the university.

Stefan Imme, Chief Digital Officer of Volkswagen Financial Services explains: "Big data plays an important role in the digitalisation of our business model. We're therefore very pleased to have found a highly competent research partner in the form of the Information Systems and Machine Learning Lab at the University of Hildesheim. Our collaboration will be focusing on insurance and banking applications as well as digital services."

Two examples of the first research topics in 2018 are the development of a self-diagnosis app to determine the expected amount of damage when a leased vehicle is returned and assessing the possibility of predicting vacant (on-street) parking spaces as part of a resident parking management.

Information for editors:

Volkswagen Financial Services are a business division of the Volkswagen AG group of companies and comprise as at 01.09.2017 Volkswagen Financial Services AG along with its associated companies, Volkswagen Bank GmbH, Porsche Financial Services, and the financial services companies in the USA, Canada, and Spain that belong directly or indirectly to Volkswagen AG – with the exception of the financial services of the Scania brand and Porsche Holding Salzburg. The key business fields embrace dealer and customer financing, leasing, the bank and insurance business, fleet management and mobility offers. Volkswagen Financial Services have a total of 15,324 employees worldwide – including 6,503 alone in Germany. Volkswagen Financial Services report total assets of around EUR 170.1 billion, an operating result of EUR 2.1 billion euros and a portfolio of around 18.2 million current contracts (as at: 31.12.2016).