Group Management Report

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Net Assets

Consolidated balance sheet structure

At the end of the reporting year, the Volkswagen Group had total assets of €528.6 billion, 6.3 % more than one year earlier. The increase was mainly attributable to higher earnings, the initial consolidation of Navistar and changes in exchange rates. A chart showing the structure of the consolidated balance sheet as of the reporting date can be found in this chapter. The Volkswagen Group’s equity rose by €17.4 billion to €146.2 billion. The equity ratio went up to 27.6 (25.9) %.

As of the end of fiscal year 2021, the Group had off-balance-sheet commitments in the form of contingent liabilities in the amount of €9.7 (8.6) billion and in the form of financial guarantees in the amount of €1.4 (0.4) billion. In addition, there were other financial obligations of €34.7 (30.3) billion. The contingent liabilities relate primarily to legal risks in connection with the diesel issue, as well as to potential liabilities from tax risks in the Commercial Vehicles Business Area in Brazil. Other financial obligations primarily result from purchase commitments for property, plant and equipment, irrevocable credit commitments to customers and from development and supply contracts. They also include commitments to invest in the infrastructure for zero-emission vehicles and in initiatives to promote access to and awareness of this technology. These commitments were made as part of the settlement agreements in the USA in connection with the diesel issue. The other financial obligations include an amount of €0.7 (0.9) billion for this purpose. In the previous year, this item had also reflected the payment of the purchase price for the acquisition of all of Navistar’s outstanding shares totaling around USD 3.7 billion. In addition to the other financial obligations, there are purchase commitments for inventories with a short turnover period, which arise primarily from the Master Collaboration Agreement with Ford Motor Company for the joint development of vans and mid-sized pickups for the global market.

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET STRUCTURE 2021

in percent

Consolidated balance sheet structure (bar chart)
BALANCE SHEET STRUCTURE OF THE PASSENGER CARS, COMMERCIAL VEHICLES AND POWER ENGINEERING BUSINESS AREAS

€ million

 

Dec. 31, 2021

 

Dec. 31, 2020

 

 

 

 

 

Passenger Cars

 

 

 

 

Noncurrent assets

 

133,857

 

130,237

Current assets

 

86,362

 

83,180

Total assets

 

220,218

 

213,417

Equity

 

93,894

 

81,423

Noncurrent liabilities

 

80,621

 

82,263

Current liabilities

 

45,704

 

49,731

 

 

 

 

 

Commercial Vehicles1

 

 

 

 

Noncurrent assets

 

34,730

 

24,777

Current assets

 

12,264

 

11,256

Total assets

 

46,994

 

36,033

Equity

 

12,807

 

13,389

Noncurrent liabilities

 

17,778

 

10,592

Current liabilities

 

16,409

 

12,052

 

 

 

 

 

Power Engineering

 

 

 

 

Noncurrent assets

 

1,804

 

1,847

Current assets

 

2,914

 

2,800

Total assets

 

4,718

 

4,647

Equity

 

2,322

 

1,922

Noncurrent liabilities

 

524

 

668

Current liabilities

 

1,872

 

2,057

1

From July 1, 2021, the figures include Navistar.

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET BY DIVISION AS OF DECEMBER 31

 

 

VOLKSWAGEN GROUP

 

AUTOMOTIVE1

 

FINANCIAL SERVICES

€ million

 

2021

 

2020

 

2021

 

2020

 

2021

 

2020

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Assets

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Noncurrent assets

 

328,261

 

302,170

 

170,391

 

156,861

 

157,871

 

145,309

Intangible assets

 

77,689

 

67,968

 

77,290

 

67,781

 

399

 

187

Property, plant and equipment

 

63,695

 

63,884

 

62,684

 

62,807

 

1,011

 

1,077

Lease assets

 

59,699

 

50,686

 

2,316

 

1,512

 

57,383

 

49,174

Financial services receivables

 

84,954

 

82,565

 

–781

 

–377

 

85,735

 

82,942

Investments, equity-accounted investments and other equity investments, other receivables and financial assets

 

42,224

 

37,067

 

28,882

 

25,137

 

13,342

 

11,930

Current assets

 

200,347

 

194,944

 

101,539

 

97,236

 

98,808

 

97,708

Inventories

 

43,725

 

43,823

 

40,361

 

39,055

 

3,363

 

4,768

Financial services receivables

 

56,498

 

58,006

 

–936

 

–557

 

57,434

 

58,562

Other receivables and financial assets

 

37,195

 

38,044

 

18,275

 

17,012

 

18,921

 

21,033

Marketable securities

 

22,532

 

21,162

 

17,674

 

17,503

 

4,858

 

3,658

Cash, cash equivalents and time deposits

 

39,723

 

33,909

 

25,491

 

24,222

 

14,232

 

9,687

Assets held for sale

 

674

 

 

674

 

 

 

Total assets

 

528,609

 

497,114

 

271,930

 

254,097

 

256,679

 

243,017

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Equity and liabilities

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Equity

 

146,154

 

128,783

 

109,022

 

96,733

 

37,131

 

32,050

Equity attributable to Volkswagen AG shareholders

 

130,009

 

111,336

 

93,592

 

79,913

 

36,417

 

31,423

Equity attributable to Volkswagen AG hybrid capital investors

 

14,439

 

15,713

 

14,439

 

15,713

 

 

Equity attributable to Volkswagen AG shareholders and hybrid capital investors

 

144,449

 

127,049

 

108,031

 

95,626

 

36,417

 

31,423

Noncontrolling interests

 

1,705

 

1,734

 

991

 

1,107

 

714

 

627

Noncurrent liabilities

 

218,062

 

202,921

 

98,923

 

93,523

 

119,139

 

109,398

Financial liabilities

 

131,618

 

114,809

 

24,639

 

15,637

 

106,978

 

99,173

Provisions for pensions

 

41,550

 

45,081

 

40,769

 

44,207

 

781

 

874

Other liabilities

 

44,894

 

43,031

 

33,515

 

33,680

 

11,379

 

9,352

Current liabilities

 

164,393

 

165,410

 

63,984

 

63,840

 

100,409

 

101,569

Financial liabilities

 

78,584

 

88,648

 

–10,237

 

–2,806

 

88,821

 

91,454

Trade payables

 

23,624

 

22,677

 

20,977

 

19,539

 

2,647

 

3,137

Other liabilities

 

61,948

 

54,085

 

53,007

 

47,107

 

8,940

 

6,978

Liabilities associated with assets held for sale

 

238

 

 

238

 

 

 

Total equity and liabilities

 

528,609

 

497,114

 

271,930

 

254,097

 

256,679

 

243,017

1

Including allocation of consolidation adjustments between the Automotive and Financial Services divisions, primarily intragroup loans.

Automotive Division balance sheet structure

As of December 31, 2021, intangible assets in the Automotive Division increased, driven among other factors by a rise in capitalized development costs. The goodwill recognized as a result of the acquisition of Navistar also had to be taken into account. Property, plant and equipment was on a level with the previous year. Due to the rise attributable to capital increases and the investment in Gotion High-Tech among other factors, equity-accounted investments were up substantially in the fiscal year under review, despite dividend resolutions. In total, noncurrent assets increased to €170.4 (156.9) billion.

Current assets expanded by €4.3 billion compared with the figure at the end of 2020, to €101.5 billion. The inventories included in this item were driven higher, primarily by exchange rate effects. Current other receivables and financial assets increased.

The Automotive Division’s cash and cash equivalents grew by €1.3 billion to €25.5 billion.

The “Assets held for sale” item consists mainly of the carrying amounts of the assets of SITECH intended for derecognition. The “Liabilities held for sale” item comprises the carrying amount of the corresponding liabilities intended for derecognition.

Equity in the Automotive Division amounted to €109.0 billion at the end of the reporting period, up 12.7 % from December 31, 2020. Good earnings performance, lower actuarial losses from the remeasurement of pension plans and positive currency translation effects pushed equity higher, while the dividend paid to the shareholders of Volkswagen AG, negative effects from the measurement of derivatives recognized directly in equity, and the redemption of the hybrid note called in the first quarter of 2021 weighed on this item. Noncontrolling interests are primarily held by the noncontrolling interest shareholders of the TRATON GROUP. The equity ratio was 40.1 (38.1) %.

Noncurrent liabilities increased by €5.4 billion to €98.9 billion. The noncurrent financial liabilities included here were driven up by exchange rate effects, among other factors. Pension provisions were lower than the comparative 2020 figure, due mainly to the actuarial remeasurement following a change in the discount rate.

At €63.9 (63.8) billion, current liabilities were on a level with the previous year. Current financial liabilities amounted to €−10.2 (−2.8) billion due primarily to reclassifications from noncurrent to current liabilities. The figures for the Automotive Division also contain the elimination of intragroup transactions between the Automotive and Financial Services divisions. As the current financial liabilities for the primary Automotive Division were lower than the loans granted to the Financial Services Division, a negative amount was disclosed in both periods. Trade payables were up distinctly, by 7.4%, compared with the end of 2020.

Current other liabilities exceeded the figure as of December 31, 2020; the other financial liabilities included in this item increased, due among other things to the effects of the measurement of derivatives and to higher liabilities from buyback transactions. Other current provisions rose because, among other reasons, provisions in connection with the EU antitrust proceedings against Scania had to be increased to €0.9 billion in the reporting period.

At the end of 2021, the Automotive Division’s total assets stood at €271.9 billion, an increase of 7.0% compared with December 31, 2020.

Financial Services Division balance sheet structure

The Financial Services Division’s total assets on December 31, 2021 were €256.7 billion, exceeding the figure on the 2020 reporting date by 5.6%, mainly due to exchange rate effects.

Noncurrent assets were 8.6 % higher than at the end of 2020, at €157.9 billion; the property, plant and equipment included in this item was down. Lease assets and noncurrent financial services receivables were up, driven by business growth and changes in exchange rates.

At €98.8 (97.7) billion, current assets were virtually on a level with the previous year’s reporting date. Current other receivables and financial assets, inventories and current financial services receivables ended the year lower, while total securities and cash and cash equivalents in the Financial Services Division amounted to €19.1 billion, thus exceeded the figure at the end of 2020 by €5.7 billion.

At the balance sheet date, the Financial Services Division accounted for around 48.6 (48.9) % of the Volkswagen Group’s assets.

On December 31, 2021, the Financial Services Division’s equity stood at €37.1 billion, 15.9% more than a year earlier, driven by earnings and exchange rate effects. The equity ratio was 14.5 (13.2) %.

Noncurrent liabilities increased by 8.9 % overall, mainly because of a rise in noncurrent financial liabilities to refinance the business volume and higher noncurrent other liabilities. Overall, current liabilities were in a similar range as in the previous year. A reduction in current financial liabilities was offset mainly by higher current other liabilities.

Deposits from the direct banking business amounted to €26.7 (28.9) billion, down from the figure recorded a year earlier.

Equity ratio
The equity ratio measures the percentage of total assets attributable to shareholders’ equity as of a reporting date. This ratio indicates the stability and financial strength of the company and shows the degree of financial independence.
Hybrid notes
Hybrid notes issued by Volkswagen are classified in their entirety as equity. The issuer has call options at defined dates during their perpetual maturities. They pay a fixed coupon until the first possible call date, followed by a variable rate depending on their terms and conditions.
Zero-Emissions Vehicle (ZEV)
Vehicles that operate without exhibiting any harmful emissions from combustion gases. Examples of zero-emissions vehicles include purely battery-powered electric vehicles (BEV) or fuel cell vehicles.