Ad-hoc | 21 April 2004 23:59

Volkswagen AG: Supervisory Board Authorises Executive Board to Acquire Stake in LeasePlan Corp.

Ad-hoc-announcement transmitted by DGAP. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­ Hamburg, 21. April 2004. In its meeting today the Supervisory Board of the Volkswagen Group authorised the Board of Management to acquire jointly with two co-investors the Dutch LeasePlan Corporation N.V., Almere-Stad, from ABN Amro Bank, Amsterdam. The purchase price is 2 billion euro. The selling party will receive a dividend from retained earnings of 130 mill euro. Following the completion of the transaction the Volkswagen Group will hold 50% of the shares and the co-investors 25% each. The internationally renowned co- investors are the Olayan Group, Athens, and the state-owned Mubadala Development Company, Abu Dhabi. The acquisition is subject to regulatory approval, including the European Monopolies and Merger Commission as well as the Dutch Central Bank. The Board of Management was authorised by the Supervisory Board to explore the option of fully or partially using Volkswagen shares currently held as treasury stock. These shares are presently owned by VW-Beteiligungs-GmbH. A state-owned investment company in Abu Dhabi might be interested in holding these shares. The final decision rests with the Supervisory Board upon due examination. With around 1.2 million vehicles under management, total assets of 10.8 billion euro and net earnings of 193 million euro (as per Dec. 31, 2003), LeasePlan is the market leading multi-brand fleet management provider in Europe and one of the top providers worldwide. Within the Volkswagen Group, business management competence for the multi- brand fleet management operations has been delegated to Volkswagen Financial Services AG, Braunschweig. It is here the fifty percent share will be placed by way of a contribution in kind. Within the Group the joint venture will be accounted for at equity. In an initial statement, the CEO of the Volkswagen Group, Dr. Bernd Pischetsrieder, welcomed the Supervisory Board’s approval. He sees the acquisition as a decisive milestone that consistently follows the strategic roadmap to a global mobility group. During the course of the Annual General Meeting on Thursday, April 22, 2004, in Hamburg, Dr. Pischetsrieder will elaborate to shareholders in his speech on this transaction and further plans. end of ad-hoc-announcement (c)DGAP 21.04.2004 ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­ WKN: 766400; ISIN: DE0007664005; Index: DAX, Euro Stoxx 50 Listed: Amtlicher Markt in Berlin-Bremen, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt (Prime Standard), Hamburg, Hannover, München und Stuttgart; EUREX; Amsterdam, Antwerpen, Brüssel, London, Luxemburg, Paris, Schweizer Börse (Hauptsegment), Wien, Tokio, Madrid, Barcelona, Bilbao, Valencia und Mailand 212359 Apr 04