Press Release

Braunschweig, 4 May 2020. After their record year 2019, Volkswagen Financial Services got off to a good start in 2020 before the corona pandemic emerged to stifle economic activity practically throughout the world. The first-quarter operating result rose by 2.5 percent compared with the same quarter last year to EUR 654 million (previous year: EUR 638 million) due to the high volume of 21.6 million current contracts (plus 5.2 percent). The level of new contracts acquired, on the other hand, showed a slight decline. "In the first two months of 2020, our new business worldwide was up on the previous year – despite reductions in China. In March, however, we were forced to experience substantial declines in all the regions that were already severely affected by the corona pandemic," said Lars Henner Santelmann, Chairman of the Board of Management of Volkswagen Financial Services AG. Particularly in China, Italy and France, fewer new contracts were concluded compared with the same period last year.

In Germany, the largest single market for Volkswagen Financial Services, the corona restrictions only came into effect at the end of March, with the result that the number of new contracts acquired was able to rise there to 569,000 units during the first quarter (previous year: 547,000 units; +4.0 percent). The total number of current contracts also increased in Germany by 5.3 percent to reach 6.41 million units (previous year: 6.09 million units).

The importance of the leasing business in Germany has grown steadily over recent years. A significant proportion of investments, particularly in vehicles and machinery, are made possible as a result. In view of this high economic relevance and the business challenges many German companies are facing due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Santelmann emphasizes: "Leasing is the key to maintaining the operational capability of small and medium-sized companies. In the current phase, state guarantees to protect against default risks in the leasing business would be a particularly effective tool for avoiding production losses and investment stoppages that would result in a further downward economic spiral."

Information for editors:

Volkswagen Financial Services are a business division of the Volkswagen AG group of companies and comprise Volkswagen Financial Services AG along with its associated companies, Volkswagen Bank GmbH, Porsche Financial Services, and the financial services companies in the USA and Canada 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 16,571 employees worldwide – including 7,414 alone in Germany. Volkswagen Financial Services report total assets of around EUR 223.5 billion, an operating result of EUR 2.96 billion and a portfolio of around 21.5 million current contracts (as at: 31.12.2019).