Report on Expected Developments

Growth in the global economy in 2016 is expected to be on a level with the previous year. We estimate global demand for vehicles will be mixed in 2016 and increase at a slower rate than in the reporting period. The Volkswagen Group intends to capitalize on this development by building on the strength of its brand diversity, global presence and pioneering technologies.

In the following, we describe the expected development of the Volkswagen Group and the general framework for its business activities. Risks and opportunities that could represent a departure from the forecast trends are presented in the Report on Risks and Opportunities.

Our assumptions are based on current estimates by third-party institutions. These include economic research institutes, banks, multinational organizations and consulting firms.