Press Release

Braunschweig, 12 October 2022. Volkswagen Financial Services are expanding their sports sponsoring commitment and will be supporting young sportsmen and women in Lower Saxony starting 2023. A sponsoring budget of up to one million euros per year has been made available for this purpose. Individuals and sports clubs with talented young individual athletes and youth teams can apply. An expert jury, including the Wolfsburg footballer and Olympic champion Alexandra Popp and the Olympic and multiple world champion in biathlon Arnd Peiffer, will decide on the amount and duration of funding. The offer from Volkswagen Financial Services is aimed specifically at young athletes in the state of Lower Saxony from as many different sports as possible. Jury member Frank Fiedler, Chief Financial Officer of Volkswagen Financial Services AG, explained the company's involvement: "We are known as a good corporate citizen and we take our social responsibility very seriously. We therefore see our realignment in the field of sports sponsoring as an important addition to our activities." Dr. Michael Reinhart, Chairman of the Management Board of Volkswagen Bank GmbH and also a member of the jury, added: "Sport is fundamental for social coexistence, creates a sense of togetherness and belonging, and connects people across cultural, social, physical and linguistic boundaries. Sport conveys values such as fair play, respect and team spirit. Communicating these values has always been of great importance to Volkswagen Financial Services. That is why Volkswagen Financial Services are committed to being a regional sponsor of young sports talent from 2023 onwards."

The offer is principally aimed at organized grassroots sports and is intended to accompany ambitious up-and-coming talents from Lower Saxony on their way to professional competitive sports on a long-term basis.

All teams and individual athletes who take part in competitions are eligible to apply. Sport is regarded for this purpose as a physical or cognitive comparison between different participants.

All athletes between the ages of 13 and 24 are eligible to take part. This also embraces young talents with physical disabilities. When teams apply, the highest permitted age in the age group applies; a U23 team would be eligible to participate.

The promotion of young talents is aimed at athletes with the right to start in the state of Lower Saxony, which means that the applicant's club must be located in Lower Saxony. Eligible expenses include, for example, expenses for trainers, coach fees, training camps, competitions, travel costs, equipment, rental costs and sportswear. The maximum sponsoring amount is 50,000 euros per athlete or team.

In the composition of the jury, value has been placed on being able to draw on a broad range of expert knowledge. The jury comprises:

• Arnd Peiffer, World champion and Olympic champion in biathlon
• Alexandra Popp, National soccer player, Olympic champion, player with VfL Wolfsburg
• Manfred Kehm,Team Leader, Competitive Sports Promotion, LandesSportBund Niedersachsen e.V.
• Andreas Hundt, Career advisor at the Olympic Training Center Lower Saxony
• Dr. Kerstin Loehr, Editor-in-Chief of the Braunschweiger Zeitung newspaper
• Frank Fiedler, Member of the Management Board of Volkswagen Financial Services AG
• Dr. Michael Reinhart, Chairman of the Management Board of Volkswagen Bank GmbH   

The other commitments of Volkswagen Financial Services remain unaffected by the expansion of the company's sports sponsorship. The sponsorship commitment of Volkswagen Financial Services continues to rest on four pillars: sports (e.g. Eintracht Braunschweig), cultural life (e.g. the Braunschweig International Film Festival), social projects (e.g. the Our Children in Braunschweig Foundation), and environmental causes (e.g. the renaturation of moors and watercourses).

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 service business of the Scania brand and of Porsche Holding Salzburg. The key business fields embrace dealer and customer financing, leasing, bank and insurance activities, fleet management and mobility services. Volkswagen Financial Services have a total of 16,849 employees worldwide – including 7,570 alone in Germany. Volkswagen Financial Services report total assets of around EUR 235.6 billion, an operating result of EUR 5.67 billion, and a portfolio of around 22.0 million current contracts (as at: 31.12.2021).