Premiere: Volkswagen Service Quality Award 2008 Presented to European Partners

WOLFSBURG - July 19, 2008: Volkswagen has presented its first Volkswagen Service Quality Award to its 100 best service partners. The award honors service partners who have achieved the best results in service quality and customer retention. The awards were conferred on representatives from the wining service partners at a gala event in the Autostadt Car Distribution Center in Wolfsburg yesterday (Thursday) evening in the presence of Detlef Wittig, Executive Vice President, Group Sales and Marketing, Prof. Dr. Jochem Heizmann, Member of the Board of Management of Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft with responsibility for Group Production, and further top management representatives. Service partners from 26 European countries, with the majority coming from the top 5 markets of Germany, Italy, United Kingdom, France and Spain, attended the event.

Wittig commented: "The name of Volkswagen must not only be synonymous with outstanding vehicles, but also with top all-round service. Our customers will only keep coming back if they are truly satisfied. That is why we must make every encounter with the Volkswagen brand a positive experience." One crucial criterion for assessing service partners is a reduction in repeat repairs. As Wittig explained: "We are very satisfied with the results of this competition. These achievements set an example for day-to-day work throughout the service business, bringing a significant improvement in the all-important competitive factor of customer satisfaction and lowering the number of repeat repairs still further."

The Volkswagen Service Quality Award is one of a package of measures which make up a service toolbox. The toolbox, which has been specially developed to enhance customer satisfaction and reduce the number of repeat repairs, is used by importers and individual service partners.

It includes a comprehensive range of activities and instruments such as communication coaching to make the way in which customer wishes are assimilated even better.

The toolbox contents are continuously developed on the basis of feedback from both service partners as well as the markets themselves.

Over 77,000 people are active for the Volkswagen brand in the service departments of 6,450 businesses throughout Europe.