Volkswagen AG and Abu Dhabi End Talks on Stock Purchase

WOLFSBURG, Germany, September 15 -- The Board of Management of Volkswagen AG and the representatives of the Government of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi have mutually agreed to end their talks about the use of Volkswagen shares in the context of the acquisition of LeasePlan. No agreement was possible regarding the purchase price of the share package, amounting to 9.8% of the capital, under conditions prevailing in the current capital market. Both sides regret this, but see very promising perspectives for further intensive and sustained cooperation for all concerned.

The purchase of a 50 percent share of the LeasePlan Corporation N.V., Almere-Stad, Netherlands, a leading, worldwide company in the area of multi-brand fleet management will now be financed through current operations. The Supervisory Board of the Volkswagen Group has already authorized the Board of Management to proceed in this manner in its meeting on April 21, 2004.

The corporate and legal structure to be applied in LeasePlan remains unchanged. Volkswagen Financial Services Group will have a 50 percent share of the joint venture. The co-investors represented by subsidiaries, the private Saudi Olayan Group, as well as the Mubadala Development Company owned by the Emirate of Abu Dhabi will hold 25 percent respectively.

The Volkswagen Group

The Volkswagen Group with its headquarters in Wolfsburg is one of the world's leading automakers and the market leader in Western Europe. The Group has a global workforce of over 340,000. In 2003, the eight Group brands delivered 5.015 million (2002: 4.983 million) vehicles to customers in over 150 countries around the world. Group sales in 2003 totalled 87.15 billion Euro (2002: 86.95 billion Euro). Profit before tax amounted to 1.53 billion Euro (2002: 3.99 billion Euro), profit after tax was 1.12 billion Euro (2002: 2.60 billion Euro). The Group operates 45 manufacturing plants in eleven European countries and a further seven countries in the Americas, Asia and Africa. Worldwide, employees produce more than 21,500 vehicles on every working day. The Volkswagen Group comprises the Volkswagen-Pkw, Audi, SEAT, Skoda, Nutzfahrzeuge, Bentley, Bugatti and Lamborghini brands and other companies such as the IT service provider gedas, Volkswagen Financial Services and Europcar.

    
    Volkswagen Group Communications
    Corporate Communications
    Contact: Frank Gaube
    Phone: +49-53-61-9-4-53-86
    Fax: +49-53-61-9-3-81-16
    E-mail: frank.gaube@volkswagen.de
    www.volkswagen-media-services.com

Volkswagen Group Communications, Corporate Communications, Frank Gaube, Phone: +49-53-61-9-4-53-86, Fax: +49-53-61-9-3-81-16, E-mail: frank.gaube@volkswagen.de