NEWS EXTRA

January 17, 2015

Business, Business / Career, Education, Feature, Government

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ASSIGNMENTS / APPOINTMENTS / ANNOUNCEMENTS

SOURCE: Volkswagen Group

THE VOLKSWAGEN GOLF AND GOLF GTI WIN 2015 NORTH AMERICAN CAR OF THE YEAR

Herndon, VA / Detroit ─ Volkswagen of America, Inc. today announced that the 2015 Golf and 2015 Golf GTI have been named the 2015 North American Car of the Year. The Golf and Golf GTI were recognized for setting new benchmarks in their segments, including innovation, distinguished design, and available driver assistance features, as well as unmatched value. The cars beat out two other finalists, vying for the award in the 22^ndannual iteration of the prestigious award.

“Volkswagen is thrilled to start 2015 with the Golf and Golf GTI taking home the incredible North American Car of the Year title,” said Michael Horn, CEO, Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. “This award highlights our achievements and hard work in the past year, and we are confident that the Golf family will continue to pave the way for the brand in the year ahead.”

The coveted 2015 North American Car of the Year award joins the list of a dozen accolades awarded to 2015 Golf models to date.

The German-engineered 2015 Golf family is currently available in four distinct versions: the sporty Golf GTI, the fun-to-drive Golf 1.8T, the Golf TDI® Clean Diesel and the all-electric, zero-tailpipe emissions e-Golf. The seventh-generation surpasses its compact class peers with a host of newly available driver assistance features and excellent EPA estimated highway fuel economy.

The Golf family will soon welcome two new additions: the all-new 292-horsepower, all-wheel drive Golf R, which sold out a pre-order of 500 units in less than 11 hours; and the TDI® Clean Diesel and turbocharged 1.8-liter TSI® Golf SportWagen models that go on sale in the spring.

The North American Car and Truck of the Year awards are announced each year at the beginning of media week at the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit. In 2015, 57 North American Car and Truck of the Year jurors from newspapers, television and radio stations, magazines and websites across the U.S. and Canada weighed in to select the vehicle that most exceeded expectations in all areas, ranging from design and safety to innovation and economy. Three finalists are winnowed down from an expansive list of all-new or significantly redesigned cars introduced in the past year. All ballots are sent directly to and calculated by Deloitte & Touche.

This is Volkswagen’s second North American Car of the Year award, following in the wheeltracks of the New Beetle in 1999. The Passat was a finalist in 2012; the Golf/TDI/GTI a finalist in 2010; and the Jetta TDI was a finalist in 2009.

About Volkswagen of America, Inc.

Founded in 1955, Volkswagen of America, Inc., an operating unit of Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (VWoA) is headquartered in Herndon, Virginia. It is a subsidiary of Volkswagen AG, headquartered in Wolfsburg, Germany. VWoA’s operations in the United States include research and development, parts and vehicle processing, parts distribution centers, sales, marketing and service offices, financial service centers, and its state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The Volkswagen Group is one of the world’s largest producers of passenger cars and Europe’s largest automaker. VWoA sells the Beetle, Beetle Convertible, CC, Eos, e-Golf, Golf, Golf GTI, Jetta, Jetta SportWagen, Passat, Tiguan, and Touareg vehicles through approximately 651 independent U.S. dealers.

About North American Car and Truck of the Year

The North American Car and Truck of the Year jury is composed of no more than 60 automotive journalists — writers and broadcasters from across the U.S. and Canada. Most have covered the auto industry for decades.

Voting for the North American Car and Truck/Utility of the Year occurs in three stages, each of which focuses the jury on a smaller number of vehicles. Early in the fall, the jurors consider all the new or substantially changed vehicles and pick a dozen or so cars and trucks, from what is called the long list, that they think deserve additional consideration. This vote results in what is called the short list. Early in December the jurors vote on those short-list vehicles, sending their ballots directly to Deloitte & Touche in Detroit. On those ballots jurors are given 25 points to distribute among the cars and 25 points to distribute among the trucks. However, no more than 10 points may be given to a single vehicle and those maximum points may be given to only one truck and one car. Jurors must use all their points.

First goal of Strategy 2018 achieved: Volkswagen Group delivers over ten million vehicles for first time

10.14 million units delivered from January to December 2014 / +4.2 percent

CEO Prof. Dr. Martin Winterkorn: “Vigorous implementation of strategy”
Group Board Member for Sales Christian Klingler: “Vehicle deliveries doubled in ten years”

Wolfsburg / Detroit, January 11, 2015 – The Volkswagen Group achieved the first goal of its Strategy 2018 last year: “In 2014, our Group delivered over ten million vehicles in total to customers, ranging from the e-up! city car to heavy commercial vehicles. That is impressive confirmation we are vigorously implementing our Strategy 2018 despite challenging market conditions. We are also making good progress with our other main goals – return on sales, customer satisfaction and top employer”, the Chairman of the Board of Management of Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft, Prof. Dr. Martin Winterkorn, said in Detroit on Sunday. In total, 10.14 (prior year: 9.73; +4.2 percent) million vehicles were handed over to customers worldwide from January to December 2014.

Developments in the month of December were also positive, with deliveries running at 881,000 (December 2013: 857,600; +2.7 percent) units. Group Board member for Sales Christian Klingler commented: “Our Group has doubled vehicle deliveries in the last ten years. That is an outstanding performance and an impressive result, and all Group brands have played their part in achieving this despite at times very difficult market conditions.”

Including the figures for heavy commercial vehicles, Group brands delivered a total of 3.95 (3.75; +5.1 percent) million vehicles to customers on the overall European market in 2014. 2.03 (1.90; +7.2 percent) million customers took possession of a new vehicle in Western Europe (excluding Germany). 1.24 (1.19; +4.5 percent) million units were delivered in the home market of Germany. The Group handed over 670,900 (668,300; +0.4 percent) vehicles to customers in Central and Eastern Europe in the period to December, of which 275,800 (316,000; -12.7 percent) were delivered in Russia.

The company delivered 891,900 (890,600; +0.2 percent) vehicles in the North America region from January to December, of which 599,700 (611,800; -2.0 percent) were handed over to customers in the United States. The Volkswagen Group delivered 795,700 (992,300;

-19.8 percent) vehicles in the South America region during the same period, of which 629,800 (755,200; -16.6 percent) were handed over to customers in Brazil.

The Group continued to record encouraging figures in the Asia-Pacific region, where annual deliveries topped the four-million mark for the first time. The Group handed over 4.06 (3.65; +11.3 percent) million vehicles there from January to December, of which 3.68 (3.27; +12.4 percent) million were delivered to customers in China (incl. Hong Kong), the Group’s largest single market.

Outline of developments at Group brands

The Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand delivered 6.12 million vehicles to customers worldwide from January to December 2014. This means the brand has doubled deliveries since 2004, and topped the six-million mark for the first time.

Audi delivered 1.74 (1.58) million vehicles to customers worldwide in 2014, a substantial increase of 10.5 percent. The premium brand from Ingolstadt grew deliveries year-on-year in almost all regions.

The sports car manufacturer Porsche delivered a total of 189,800 (162,100; +17.1 percent) vehicles in the period to December. Demand for models from the Stuttgart-based carmaker was particularly high in Western Europe, Asia-Pacific and North America.

The ŠKODA brand delivered over one million units worldwide for the first time in the period from January to December 2014, handing over 1.04 (0.92) million vehicles to customers, a year-on-year increase of 12.7 percent.

SEAT delivered 390,500 (355,000) vehicles worldwide in the period to December 2014, a year-on-year rise of 10.0 percent.

The Group’s three commercial vehicles brands, MAN, Scania and Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, delivered 646,500 (683,200; -5.4 percent) heavy and light commercial vehicles worldwide in 2014 against the backdrop of weaker developments in Europe, Russia and South America. MAN accounted for 120,100 (140,300; -14.4 percent) of these vehicles. The Swedish brand Scania handed over 79,800 (80,500; -0.8 percent) heavy commercial vehicles and buses to customers in 2014.Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles delivered 446,600 (462,400; -3.4 percent) units in the period to December.

PHOTO(s) OF THE DAY

SOURCE: Department of Defense /Defense News Lead Photo

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EL CENTRO, Calif. (Jan. 13, 2015) The U.S. Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron, Blue Angels, Left Wing pilot Lt. Andy Talbott flies over El Centro, Calif., during a training flight. The Blue Angels are conducting winter training where pilots must complete 120 practice flights before kicking off the 2015 air show season. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Andrea Perez/Released)

Utilitiesman 1st Class Ken Massey, assigned to Underwater Construction Team One (UCT ONE), dives on a wreck during diver training aboard USAV Matamoros (LCU-2026). Diver training is a two-week, joint training evolution between UCT ONE and Underwater Construction Team Two designed to reinforce standard operating procedures, qualify personnel, maintain proficiency, and evaluate dive protocol during scuba, surface supplied and recompression chamber operations. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Tyler N. Thompson/Released)

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, center, walks with Air Force Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Larry O. Spencer and Air Force Maj. Gen. Darryl W. Burke, commander of the Air Force District of Washington, at the U.S. Air Force Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Summit on Joint Base Andrews, Md., Jan. 16, 2015.