Structure and Business Activities

This chapter describes the legal and organizational structure of the Volkswagen Group and explains the material changes in 2015 with respect to equity investments.

OUTLINE OF THE LEGAL STRUCTURE OF THE GROUP

Volkswagen AG is the parent company of the Volkswagen Group. It develops vehicles and components for the Group’s brands, but also produces and sells vehicles, in particular passenger cars and light commercial vehicles for the Volkswagen Passenger Cars and Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles brands. In its function as parent company, Volkswagen AG holds indirect or direct interests in AUDI AG, SEAT S.A., ŠKODA AUTO a.s., Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, Scania AB, MAN SE, Volkswagen Financial Services AG and a large number of other companies in Germany and abroad. More detailed disclosures are contained in the list of shareholdings in accordance with sections 285 and 313 of the Handelsgesetzbuch (HGB – German Commercial Code), which can be accessed at www.volkswagenag.com/ir and is part of the annual financial statements.

Volkswagen AG is a vertically integrated energy company within the meaning of section 3 No. 38 of the Energiewirtschaftsgesetz (EnWG – German Energy Industry Act) and is therefore subject to the provisions of the EnWG. In the electricity sector, Volkswagen AG performs electricity generation, sales and distribution together with a Group subsidiary.

Volkswagen AG’s Board of Management is the ultimate body responsible for managing the Group. The Supervisory Board appoints, monitors and advises the Board of Management; it is consulted directly on decisions that are of fundamental significance for the Company.

ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE OF THE GROUP

The Volkswagen Group is one of the leading multibrand groups in the automotive industry. The Company’s business activities comprise the Automotive and Financial Services divisions. All brands in the Automotive Division – with the exception of the Volkswagen Passenger Cars and Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles brands – are legally independent separate companies. The business activities of the various companies in the Volkswagen Group focus on developing, producing and selling passenger cars, light commercial vehicles, trucks and buses. The product portfolio ranges from motorcycles to fuel-efficient small cars and luxury vehicles. In the commercial vehicles segment, the MAN and Scania commercial vehicles brands were bundled under Volkswagen Truck & Bus GmbH in fiscal year 2015. Volkswagen Truck & Bus GmbH manages and coordinates the cooperation. Here, too, the brands continue to retain their independence. The commercial vehicles segment’s offering begins with small pickups and extends to heavy trucks and buses. Power Engineering manufactures large-bore diesel engines and special gear units, among other things. A broad range of financial services rounds off the offering. With its brands, the Volkswagen Group has a presence in all relevant markets around the world. Western Europe, China, the USA, Brazil and Mexico are currently the key sales markets for the Group.

Volkswagen AG and the Volkswagen Group are managed by Volkswagen AG’s Board of Management in accordance with the Volkswagen AG Articles of Association and the rules of procedure for Volkswagen AG’s Board of Management issued by the Supervisory Board.

Volkswagen’s strategic management is largely conducted at Group level by various committees. These committees, which are composed of representatives both of the relevant central departments and the corresponding functions in the Company’s business areas, cover the following basic functions, among other things: product planning, investment, liquidity and foreign currency, and management issues.

Each brand in the Volkswagen Group is managed by a board of management, which ensures its independent development and its business operations. The Group targets and requirements laid down by the Board of Management of Volkswagen AG must be complied with to the extent permitted by law. This allows Group-wide interests to be pursued while at the same time safeguarding and reinforcing each brand’s specific characteristics. Matters that are of importance to the Group as a whole are submitted to the Group Board of Management in order – to the extent permitted by law – to reach agreement between the parties involved. The rights and obligations of the statutory bodies of the relevant brand companies remain unaffected.

The companies of the Volkswagen Group are managed separately by their respective managements. In addition to the interests of their own companies, each individual company management takes into account the interests of the Group and of the individual brands in accordance with the framework laid down by law.

Following the announcement of the realignment of Group structures, we have been fine-tuning the management model since September 2015 and adjusting its specific structure. This involves defining the functional, divisional and regional responsibilities in greater detail and strengthening corporate responsibility within the brands and regions. The clear strategic focus of the Group functions aims to increase the Group’s decision-making speed and agility. It will allow the Group Board of Management to concentrate to a greater extent on its core tasks, which include strategy and managing major synergy levers such as modular toolkits, key technologies and procurement, as well as plant capacity utilization. The cross-brand modular toolkit and product strategy is another core task.

Further information on the Volkswagen Group’s future organizational alignment can be found in the Report on Expected Developments.

MATERIAL CHANGES IN EQUITY INVESTMENTS

The control and profit and loss transfer agreement between MAN SE, as the controlled company, and Volkswagen Truck & Bus GmbH (formerly Truck & Bus GmbH), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Volkswagen AG, as the controlling company, came into force on its entry in the commercial register on July 16, 2013. The conclusion of the control and profit and loss transfer agreement replaced the group based on the de facto exercise of management control by a “contractual group”, permitting considerably more efficient and less bureaucratic cooperation between the MAN Group and the rest of the Volkswagen Group. Noncontrolling interest shareholders of MAN SE have the right to tender MAN ordinary and preferred shares in Volkswagen Truck & Bus GmbH during and two months after the conclusion of the award proceedings instituted in July 2013 to review the appropriateness of the cash settlement set out in the agreement in accordance with section 305 of the Aktiengesetz (AktG – German Stock Corporation Act) and the cash compensation in accordance with section 304 of the AktG. The Munich Regional Court ruled in the first instance at the end of July 2015 that the settlement payable to the shareholders should be increased from €80.89 to €90.29 per share. Both Volkswagen and a number of the noncontrolling interest shareholders have appealed to the Higher Regional Court in Munich. At the end of December 2015, Volkswagen Truck & Bus GmbH held 75.56% of the ordinary shares and 46.19% of the preferred shares of MAN SE.

On March 14, 2014, Volkswagen AG made a voluntary tender offer to Scania’s shareholders for all shares not previously held by Volkswagen either directly or indirectly. Following completion of the offer, Volkswagen increased its interest in Scania’s share capital to 99.57% at the end of 2014. A squeeze-out was initiated for the Scania shares not tendered in the course of the offer, and on

November 11, 2014 the court of arbitration ruled in the squeeze-out proceedings that all Scania shares outstanding would be transferred to Volkswagen AG. Volkswagen AG has been the indirect and direct legal owner of all Scania shares since January 14, 2015, when the decision became final and unappealable. The arbitration proceedings to determine an appropriate settlement are continuing.

On August 29, 2015, the arbitration ruling was delivered to the parties in the proceedings relating to the cooperation agreement between Volkswagen AG and the Suzuki Motor Corporation. It found that Volkswagen had acted in accordance with the agreement. The arbitration court also confirmed that Suzuki was in breach of contract and, on the merits of this case, acknowledged that Volkswagen had a claim to damages. In addition, the arbitration court established that the parties had the right to give regular notice to terminate the cooperation agreement. It said that Suzuki had exercised this right, ending the partnership. According to the court, the agreements had to be interpreted in such a way that Volkswagen had to sell its equity investment in Suzuki on termination of the partnership. Volkswagen consequently sold its 19.9% equity investment in Suzuki to Suzuki on September 17, 2015 at the quoted market price of €3.1 billion. In February 2016, Volkswagen and Suzuki agreed a settlement regarding the claims for damages brought by Volkswagen.

LEGAL FACTORS INFLUENCING BUSINESS

Volkswagen companies are affected – as are other international companies – by numerous laws in Germany and abroad. In particular, there are legal requirements relating to development, production and distribution, as well as to tax, company, commercial, financial and capital market regulations, and those relating to labor, banking, state aid, energy, environmental and insurance law.

LIST OF SHAREHOLDINGS OF VOLKSWAGEN AG
www.volkswagenag.com/ir