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March 19, 2003
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This Week:

• 2004 Cadillac XLR - Set To Become An Icon For Cadillac's New Era

• Land Rover Shows Broadest Line Ever At Atlanta Auto Show

• DaimlerChrysler acquires a 43 percent holding in Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation (MFTBC)

• Nissan announces management changes to support the successful implementation of NISSAN 180

• Renault and Idro envisage manufacturing a common platform and vehicle together in Iran

• Planned BMW Group production in China approved by State Council

• Volkswagen presents second best results in its history

• Mercedes-Benz C-Class Production Passes the Million Mark Less Than Three Years after Manufacturing Launch

• BMW Group improves profit before tax to euro 3,297 million

• New President of Honda Motor Europe North

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Volkswagen presents second best results in its history

Photo: VW
 

Profit before tax 3.986 billion € 4.984 million vehicles delivered to customers worldwide 12.1 percent share of world passenger car market Dresden / Wolfsburg - At its Annual Press Conference, held this year at the Transparent Factory in Dresden, the Volkswagen Group presented the second best results in its history. Europe's largest automobile manufacturer made a profit before tax of 3.986 billion € (2001: 4.409 billion €) in financial2002. The Group's sales revenue totalled 86.948 billion € (2001: 88.540 billion €). Profit after tax was 2.597 billion € (2001: 2.926 billion €). The Board of Management will propose a dividend of 1.30 € per ordinary share and 1.36 € per preferred share, on par with the previous year, to the Annual General Meeting.

In 2002 the Group delivered 4.984 million (2001: 5.080 million) vehicles to customers worldwide, achieving a 12.1 percent (2001: 12.4 percent) share of the world passenger car market. Nearly one in five of all passenger cars bought in Europe came from the Volkswagen Group. As a result, the Volkswagen Group maintained its market leadership under difficult economic conditions. "I would like to say a special thank you to all our employees in the Group whose personal commitment has helped us to achieve such an excellent performance even in the midst of economic recession", said Dr. Bernd Pischetsrieder, Chairman of the Board of Management of Volkswagen AG, to an audience of over 300 German and international journalists in Dresden.

The operating profit of the Group for 2002 totalled 4.8 billion € (2001: 5.4 billion €). The main driver of Group earnings was the Volkswagen Brand Group with 2.5 billion € (2001: 3.0 billion €), followed by the Audi Brand Group with 1.4 billion € (2001: 1.5 billion €) and Commercial Vehicles with 156 million € (2001: 340 million €). The Financial Services Division improved its operating profit to 721 million € (2001: 552 million €) in 2002. "Our financial statements are characterized by healthy incomes and sound capital structures", said Dr. Bruno Adelt, Member of the Board of Management of Volkswagen AG responsible for Controlling and Accounting. "Our production costs have developed favourably. We have achieved one of the primary objectives of our cost cutting measures."

In the past year the Volkswagen Group invested 9.2 billion € in its Automotive Division. The main focus of investments was on the expansion of the product range and the associated modernization of manufacturing facilities. 2002 saw the start of production of the Volkswagen Phaeton, the Touareg offroad vehicle and the Touran minivan. Other investments were made in the successor models to the Audi A8, the Audi A3, the SEAT Cordoba and the Golf, as well as in the New Beetle Cabriolet.

In Western Europe the Volkswagen Group delivered 2,827,472 (2001: 2,978,158) vehicles to customers in the past financial year. Germany, where a total of 940,129 (2001: 986,813) vehicles were delivered, remains the Group's largest single market. Its 30.0 percent share of the market there was virtually at the same level as the previous year (2001: 30.2 percent). Deliveries in the North America Region of 663,278 vehicles were slightly down on the previous year's level (2001: 669,494). The Group's share of the region's passenger car market rose slightly to 6.7 percent (2001: 6.6 percent). In the South America/South Africa Region the Volkswagen Group sold 477,473 units (2001: 555,266).

The Volkswagen Group's largest increase in unit sales was achieved in the Asia-Pacific Region, where it delivered 620,624 vehicles to customers (2001: 460,934). In China, the largest single market in Asia, the Group sold over half a million vehicles for the first time last year. Deliveries to customers increased to 512,548 units (2001: 358,879). The Group's market share in China in 2002 was 38.5 percent. In Japan the Group increased its deliveries to customers by 3.5 percent to 70,931 units (2001: 68,514).

(Mar 11, 2003)