Volkswagen extends cooperation with Chinese joint venture partner FAW Group for further 25 years (FOTO)

Berlin / Beijing (ots) -

- Cross-reference: Picture is available at
http://www.presseportal.de/galerie.htx?type=obs -

- Agreement signed in Federal Chancellery in presence of Chinese
Premier Li Keqiang and Federal Chancellor Dr. Angela Merkel

- Volkswagen and further Chinese joint venture partner SAIC agree
on new proving ground in Xinjiang province

- Prof. Dr. Winterkorn: "Together with its strong partners
Volkswagen is focusing on innovation, eco-friendly technologies and
excellently trained employees in China."

- Cooperation with Ministry of Education: Centers of competence
for teacher training to be set up to strengthen expansion of dual
vocational training system

After 20 years of successful cooperation the Volkswagen Group and
its Chinese joint venture partner First Automotive Works (FAW) are
extending their present partnership for a further 25 years, until the
year 2041. In addition, the Volkswagen Group and the Chinese joint
venture partner SAIC are investing in the Shanghai Volkswagen (SVW)
proving ground in Xinjiang province, western China. Both agreements
were signed in Berlin today in the presence of Li Keqiang, Premier of
the People's Republic of China, Dr. Angela Merkel, Chancellor of the
Federal Republic of Germany, and Prof. Dr. Martin Winterkorn,
Chairman of the Board of Management of Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft.
A joint memorandum concluded with the Chinese Ministry of Education
concerning cooperation in the field of vocational training was
already signed yesterday in Wolfsburg.

Based on today's extended cooperation, Volkswagen and FAW will be
able to significantly expand existing research and development
activities in China and move into new business areas in the coming
years, above all in the field of alternative drive technologies. The
agreement was signed by Prof. Dr. Jochem Heizmann, Member of the
Board of Management of Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft with
responsibility for China and President and CEO of Volkswagen Group
China, and Xu Jianyi, Chairman of the FAW Group. Back in July of this
year, Volkswagen and FAW agreed to expand their production capacity
by building two new plants in Qingdao and Tianjin.

"Together with its strong partners Volkswagen is focusing on
innovation, eco-friendly technologies and excellently trained
employees in China. Today's agreements pave the way for the
sustainable development of China's automotive industry and for the
Volkswagen Group and its joint ventures to benefit from growth",
Winterkorn underscored during the signing ceremony.

Volkswagen is further expanding its activities in western China -
and is joining up with the Chinese joint venture partner SAIC to
invest some E100 million in a new proving ground in the Xinjiang
region to test models from Shanghai Volkswagen. The facility will be
built to the south east of the Urumqi plant commissioned in August
2013. Heizmann and Chen Zhixin, President of SAIC Motor Corporation,
also signed a joint agreement to this effect today.

"Our success in China would not have been possible without our
long- standing Chinese joint venture partnerships", Heizmann
commented. "We are firmly convinced the extended cooperation with FAW
we signed today reinforces our excellent strategic position going
forward. We will be introducing our newest testing methods in China
at our new proving ground, and will be paying very close attention to
the appropriate training for our employees. This is clear testimony
of Volkswagen's commitment to the Chinese market."

As Prof. Dr. Horst Neumann, Member of the Board of Management of
Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft with responsibility for Human
Resources, Organization and IT, underscored: "Dual vocational
training along the lines of the system Volkswagen has implemented
almost all over the world closely links theory and practice and
ensures that young employees acquire a high standard of specialist
skills. That is why we want to encourage even more higher vocational
education institutions in China to commit to dual vocational
training." Together with Prof. Guiren Yuan, the Chinese Minister of
Education, Neumann signed on Thursday in Wolfsburg a memorandum on
cooperation in the field of vocational training in which the
Volkswagen Group and the Chinese government undertake to expand the
dual vocational training system in China. Plans include nine centers
of competence for teacher training and for teaching programs that
closely link theory and practice in line with the German vocational
training principle. These educational facilities will specialize in
tooling, automation technology, bodyshell technology and automotive
technology as well as pedagogy. The first centers have already been
set up in Changchun and Yizheng.

The Volkswagen Group is one of the most successful companies in
the Chinese automobile industry. Together with its joint venture
partners SAIC and FAW, the Volkswagen Group builds models from the
Volkswagen Passenger Cars, Audi and SKODA brands for the Chinese
market. Vehicle production includes engines and components
manufactured locally by the Group and its partners. In total, the
Volkswagen Group has a presence at 17 production locations in China
comprising eight vehicle sites and nine component sites. Shanghai
Volkswagen has already announced the building of a new factory in
Changsha to expand vehicle production capacity. Furthermore, FAW-
Volkswagen is to construct two new production plants in Qingdao and
Tianjin.

In the first three quarters of this year, Volkswagen Group China
together with its Chinese joint ventures Shanghai Volkswagen and FAW-
Volkswagen delivered more than 2.7 million vehicles, an increase of
15.2 percent on the comparable prior-year period.

Note: Text and photos from the appointment at the Federal
Chancellery will be available from approx. 15:45h on
www.volkswagen-media-services.com.

Contact:
Volkswagen Group Communications
Spokesperson Production and Plants
Christoph Adomat
Phone: +49 (0) 5361 / 9-86266
Cell phone: +49 160/90832110
E-Mail: christoph.adomat@volkswagen.de
www.volkswagen.com.cn

Volkswagen Group China
CEO Communications
Larissa Braun
Phone: +86-10-6531 5482
Cell phone: +86-138 1147 2546
E-Mail: larissa.braun@volkswagen.com.cn
www.volkswagenag.com