Supervisory Board approves Future Plan 2030: A strong signal for Volkswagen Group

Oliver Blume, CEO of Volkswagen Group: “The Supervisory Board has unanimously approved the Executive Board’s Future Plan presented today. This is a strong signal for the future of the Volkswagen Group. We are taking responsibility for our entire workforce, for our partners and for industrial jobs worldwide. Over the coming years, we will invest a three-figure billion sum to make our iconic brands even more attractive, stronger and more competitive.”

Hans Dieter Pötsch, Chairman of the Supervisory Board: “With the Future Plan now approved, the Supervisory Board and Executive Board of Volkswagen AG have shown that the company’s transformation is being driven forward with full force. The Supervisory Board received a thorough briefing on the transformation concept developed by the Executive Board. As the Supervisory Board, we are convinced that implementation of the Future Plan will secure the long-term viability and competitiveness of the Volkswagen Group.”

Olaf Lies, Minister-President of Lower Saxony: “Given international competition, the challenges facing Volkswagen and the German automotive industry are enormous. It is all the more important that we now take a shared path toward the necessary transformation. Today’s resolution sends important signs: We are investing heavily in future viability and are improving competitiveness. At the same time, we will develop long-term prospects for our sites. And politics also has to play a supporting role: We need a competitive framework and a trade policy that strengthens our industrial base in an increasingly fierce global competition.”

Christiane Benner, Deputy Chair of the Supervisory Board and First Chairwoman of IG Metall: “In this crisis situation, we fought hard for good solutions. With the Future Plan now adopted, we are facing the enormous challenges together with the Executive Board and shareholders. It is good that the Executive Board now has the foundation to tackle the major tasks ahead. This explicitly includes developing future scenarios for all plants. As Germany’s largest industrial company, Volkswagen continues to bear an enormous responsibility toward its employees and the regions it operates in. We will demonstrate that the best results are achieved when all parties face even the hardest challenges head-on and together.”

Daniela Cavallo, Chairwoman of the Group and Central Works Council of the Volkswagen Group: “The Future Plan is a necessity to lead our Group successfully into the next decade – without placing the burden of that transformation solely on employees. In doing so, Volkswagen once again affirms that job security and economic viability carry equal weight as shared corporate goals. They are not in opposition; they are intertwined. In this spirit, co-determination within the Group is stepping up to its responsibilities in this situation as well. This provides the basis for the company to continue driving success with attractive models and, in doing so, to help secure a future for employees at every site.”

The most extensive transformation program in the Volkswagen Group’s history

The Future Plan 2030 is the most strategically profound transformation program in the Volkswagen Group’s history. Its 12 initiatives are designed to make the Group and its brands more resilient and competitive under demanding market conditions:

• Strengthening the financial basis: The core automotive business takes center stage. As market conditions evolve, the Volkswagen Group plans for annual sales of nine million vehicles. The primary financial target is an operating margin of nine percent by 2030. This corresponds to an operating result of approximately €31 billion, with €37 billion in overhead costs and a target of €135 billion for capital expenditure and research and development in the planning period 2027 to 2031. Based on the Future Plan, the individual items of capital expenditure as well as research and development costs will be presented to the Supervisory Board in a validated and detailed form as part of the usual process in the course of Planning Round 75.

• Focusing on the most compelling vehicles: By 2035, the Volkswagen Group will streamline its model portfolio by around 50 percent and reduce its offering complexity by around 75 percent. The prioritized models aim to excel in design and technology – and benefit from the focus on fewer variants: Higher volumes per model, lower costs, stronger economies of scale. The Volkswagen Group is systematically tailoring its platforms, electronic architectures, driver assistance systems and software to the needs of both the Western and Eastern hemispheres.

• Taking efficiency to the next level: A group-wide Operational Excellence program pools the capabilities of research and development, procurement, production, quality, sales and overhead. The program targets significantly higher efficiency, smoother processes, greater speed and a measurable boost in competitiveness.

• Strengthening leadership, accelerating decisions: Leaner leadership structures, clear accountability and shorter lines of decision making empower teams to act faster and take greater ownership. A unified performance and bonus system for executives will drive accountability for individual results and collective performance.

• Establishing a competitive production structure: Consistent with the agreed target vision, a concept for a sustainable and competitive production structure is to be developed for the European plants by the end of June 2027. With its resolution, the Supervisory Board acknowledges that Volkswagen Group’s European capacity currently exceeds demand by more than 500,000 units and that a competitive future production allocation for the Emden, Zwickau, Hanover and Neckarsulm plants cannot currently be secured on a staggered basis from 2031 to 2034. In parallel and in addition, alternative uses for these plants are being assessed.

• Adjusting the workforce structure: Beyond existing programs, a further fundamental adjustment of the global workforce capacity is necessary to achieve the objectives of the transformation program and safeguard the competitiveness of the Volkswagen Group. Given intensifying global competition, shifting demand and technological change in the automotive industry, a consistent alignment of workforce capacity with economic reality is essential. According to the analysis underlying the Future Plan 2030, a Group-wide workforce adjustment of approximately 50,000 positions – including management roles – will be necessary.

• Further developing the North America and China businesses: In North America, the Volkswagen Group will focus on the most profitable segments. In China, the Group is adapting to revised expectations for overall growth in the Chinese automotive market and is expanding its export business toward the “Global South.”

• Simplifying the Group structure: The Supervisory Board has asked the Executive Board to develop a model for an evolved decision-making and group structure for the Volkswagen Group. This evolved structure will provide the basis for realizing technological and other synergies that reduce costs across the Group. It will enable clear assignment of accountability and faster, more efficient, modern group governance. The Supervisory Board of Volkswagen AG will resolve to limit its reserved approval rights to measures of material significance for the Group as a whole, with thresholds adjusted accordingly to align with standard DAX practice.
• Streamlining the investment portfolio, deploying capital more effectively: The portfolio of shareholdings and businesses will be rigorously assessed to retain only those with a clear strategic and financial contribution to the core business – it is to be streamlined by around one-third. Non-strategic activities will be divested or realigned. The real estate portfolio will also be reviewed. The goal is to have a leaner structure and more effective use of capital.

Accelerating implementation

With today‘s resolution, the Future Plan 2030 moves into further implementation. Measures already under way will be pursued consistently; the further steps will be initiated immediately. Where agreements with employee representatives are required, the responsible bodies of the brands and subsidiaries will be involved and discussions will begin promptly. The Executive Board takes overall responsibility for implementation and will drive the program forward with clear governance and the necessary pace. The Supervisory Board will be closely involved in the process, regularly updated on progress and consulted where necessary.