Press Release

Braunschweig, September 10, 2024. Volkswagen Financial Services (VW FS) are driving digitalization forward with their dealer partners. As part of this advance, the Braunschweig-based financial and mobility services provider is providing a solution for digital vehicle registration to its dealer partners through its joint venture subsidiary MyDigitalCar. The digital registration process enables vehicles to be registered, re-registered and deregistered. It is completed in just a few minutes and means that customers no longer have to visit the registration office. For this digital service VW FS are using the only software currently approved by Germany's Federal Motor Transport Authority for all types of registration. VW FS began using this particular technology as early as 2019 as part of a pilot operation under a special permit from the Lower Saxony state government. The company was therefore able to contribute to the practical testing needed to create a new legal basis in the relevant regulations, the German Vehicle Registration Ordinance.

Manuela Voigt, Management Board Chair of Volkswagen Leasing GmbH, commented: "We are very proud that we are further advancing digitalization directly at the point of sale and thus creating real added value for our dealer partners and customers. Wearisome bureaucratic procedures, waiting times and excessive costs are now a thing of the past. The feedback from dealers has been very positive so far. I firmly believe that in the future the majority of registrations in Germany will be digital."

Starting immediately, car dealerships can register vehicles for their customers digitally with just a few clicks. With the help of a simple online process, the dealers immediately receive a digital registration notification, which then allows their customers to drive off straight away. The final documents (registration certificate Part I (the vehicle registration document) and Part II (the title of ownership) as well as stickers for the license plates) are then conveniently sent by post immediately afterwards.

The new digital solution also enables vehicles to be decommissioned or deregistered. After uncovering the code hidden on the registration certificate I (previously called the vehicle registration document in Germany) and on both license plates, the process takes only a few minutes.

Successful cooperation with the City of Braunschweig

VW FS laid the foundation for the successful rollout right on its own doorstep. In a unique project with the City of Braunschweig and other participants (including the Lower Saxony state government and the German Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport (BMDV)), many valuable experiences were gained that served as a template for the further development of Internet-based vehicle registration at the federal level – including the integration of digital signatures into registration applications. As part of this flagship project, several hundred company cars from VW FS were registered digitally in Braunschweig.

Foundation of MyDigitalCar as a logical step

To provide their customers with access to digital vehicle registration processes, VW FS, together with the management and technology consultancy Sopra Steria, founded the joint venture MyDigitalCar GmbH in June 2023. Companies such as car dealerships, fleet operators, and leasing and rental car companies can register their vehicles digitally through this special vehicle registration platform. This results in the potential for several million digital registration processes per year.

Volkswagen Financial Services AG is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Volkswagen AG and, as part of Volkswagen Group Mobility, manages the European financial and mobility services business. The aim of Volkswagen Financial Services AG is to support the sales of the Volkswagen Group brands and increase customer loyalty. The company is a longstanding partner of the dealership network – as a provider of financial services and as an aide and advisor. Its core products include vehicle leasing and financing, insurance, and other vehicle-related mobility products – both for private customers and for individual commercial customers and fleet customers. Through its subsidiary, Volkswagen Bank GmbH, Volkswagen Financial Services AG is also active in the direct banking sector.