#Strategy

PowerCo SE, Volkswagen Group’s battery company, and Patriot Battery Metals Inc. (TSX: PMET | ASX: PMT | OTCQX: PMETF | FSE: R9GA) today announced they have entered into a strategic partnership. This is the first investment for PowerCo and Volkswagen in the lithium supply chain, underlining PowerCo’s ambition to execute on its vertical integration strategy – from mine to battery. The partnership ensures the long-term supply of lithium raw materials through a binding offtake commitment. Additionally, the companies will jointly explore further strategic opportunities such as a downstream lithium supply chain with a focus on cost competitiveness, high ESG standards and long-term security.

The Volkswagen Group, headquartered in Wolfsburg, is one of the world's leading manufacturers of automobiles and commercial vehicles and the largest carmaker in Europe. With our brands, business units and financial services, we are shaping the zero-emission and autonomous future of mobility. From the company profile and corporate principles to the history - here you will find the most important information about the Volkswagen Group.

Experience electric mobility: All-electric vehicles from the Volkswagen Group stand for driving pleasure, innovative technology and sustainable mobility. With the cross-brand communication campaign Enter Electric, the Volkswagen Group is placing a clear focus on education. The initiative dispels widespread myths and prejudices and explains the advantages of e-mobility in detail. Key topics such as suitability for everyday use, battery life, charging convenience, cost benefits and sustainability are addressed.

The Group comprises ten brands from five European countries: Volkswagen, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, ŠKODA, SEAT, CUPRA, Audi, Lamborghini, Bentley, Porsche and Ducati. In addition, the Volkswagen Group offers a wide range of further brands and business units including financial services. Volkswagen Financial Services comprises dealer and customer financing, leasing, banking and insurance activities, and fleet management.

Today, the Volkswagen Group has informed its retail partners in selected European markets that it will initiate a joint review of its sales model. While the ‘Direct to Customer’ approach with a Full Agency remains the long-term ambition, changing framework conditions might require changes in the short- to mid-term to ensure the best possible customer experience. Due to the slower transition to electric mobility across the industry, two sales models for private customers would need to be operated in parallel longer than originally anticipated: The Agency model for all-electric vehicles (BEVs) and the indirect sales model for vehicles with other drivetrains. Maintaining this high level of complexity for an extended period of time would be a key challenge for the sales organization. Therefore, a joint review process with the wholesale and retail organizations will start immediately to determine whether returning to an indirect sales model for BEVs might be a favourable alternative for the short- to mid-term. Results of this process are expected around the end of Q1 2025.

The Volkswagen Group is consistently advancing its “In China, for China” strategy. The company is strengthening its successful 40-year partnership with SAIC Motor for the long term. In Shanghai, both companies signed an extension of their joint venture agreement until the year 2040. By extending the agreement, the partners are creating early planning security beyond 2030 in a very dynamic development phase of the Chinese automotive market. At the same time, Volkswagen and SAIC are accelerating the transformation of their joint venture company, SAIC VOLKSWAGEN, in the areas of product portfolio, production, and decarbonization. The shared goal of the partners is to achieve a leading market position for SAIC VOLKSWAGEN with the Volkswagen Passenger Cars and Audi brands in the era of intelligent, fully connected electric vehicles.

The Volkswagen Group appoints Kjell Gruner as CEO of Volkswagen Group of America effective December 12. Gruner succeeds Pablo Di Si, who has stepped down from his position last week on his own request. Until Kjell Gruner takes office, Gerrit Spengler, CHRO of Volkswagen Group of America, will perform the function of interim CEO.

Rivian Automotive (NASDAQ: RIVN) and Volkswagen Group (XETRA: VOW / VOW3) entered into a transaction agreement to create their new joint venture (JV) – “Rivian and VW Group Technology, LLC”, known as Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies - with a total deal size of up to $5.8 billion, which is expected to start on November 13. Through this JV, the companies plan to bring next-generation electrical architecture and best-in-class software technology for both companies’ future electric vehicles, covering all relevant vehicle segments, including subcompact cars. It is highly complementary reflecting Rivian’s industry-leading software and electrical hardware technology as well as Volkswagen Group’s significant global scale and industry-leading vehicle platform competencies.

The collective bargaining committees of Volkswagen AG and the Lower Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt branches of IG Metall today continued discussions in the 2024 collective bargaining round in Wolfsburg. Ahead of the negotiations, IG Metall had additionally demanded that the company reinstate the collective agreements terminated by Volkswagen AG effective December 31, 2024, without any modification of content. Due to the economic crisis in the automotive industry, Volkswagen is unable to meet this demand. Nor is it able to meet the union’s demand for a 7 percent pay rise. Rather, the company believes that reducing pay by 10 percent would give Volkswagen AG the means to make future investments so as to remain competitive and hence safeguard jobs.

The Volkswagen Group expects deliveries to customers to be around 9 million vehicles (2023: 9.24 million vehicles). The company expects Group sales revenue to be around 320 billion euros (2023: 322.3 billion euros).

On October 30, 2024 the Volkswagen Group published the results for the third quarter 2024.

At the International Suppliers Fair (IZB) in Wolfsburg, Germany, Volkswagen Group and Thyssenkrupp Steel signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the planned supply to Volkswagen Group of low-carbon steel from Thyssenkrupp Steel’s future direct reduction plant. This agreement underscores the two companies’ joint commitment to sustainability and climate protection, marking a further milestone in their long-standing partnership.

The collective bargaining committees of Volkswagen AG and the Lower Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt branches of IG Metall today started discussions in the 2024 collective bargaining round in Hanover. The parties to the collective bargaining agreement had agreed previously to bring forward the start of the collective bargaining round originally planned for the end of October by one month. Due to the current economic challenges, Volkswagen AG felt compelled to add matters other than the IG Metall pay demand to the negotiations in the collective bargaining round and, for the first time, to terminate collective agreements effective December 31, 2024. These include the safeguards for production sites and jobs, the hiring of trainees and dual students, the application of the Tarif Plus bracket and all collective agreements on the deployment of temporary workers.