Group Management Report

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Financial Position

Financial position of the Group

In the period from January to December 2021, the Volkswagen Group generated gross cash flow of €43.7 (35.0) billion. The increase compared with the previous year was largely attributable to the improvement in profit. In comparison with the previous year, which had been impacted by the pandemic, a decrease in inventories and receivables, a rise in lease assets and higher liabilities took the change in working capital to €−5.1 (−10.1) billion. Cash outflows attributable to the diesel issue were lower than in fiscal year 2020 and included the inflows from the agreements regarding the settlement of damages. As a result, cash flows from operating activities grew by €13.7 billion to €38.6 billion.

The Volkswagen Group’s investing activities attributable to operating activities increased by €5.8 billion to €24.2 billion in the reporting period, particularly due to the acquisition of Navistar for an amount of €2.6 billion (net of the cash funds acquired), the capital increase and acquisition of shares in Gotion High-Tech in an amount of €1.1 billion and a rise in capitalized development costs.

Financing activities accounted for total cash outflows of €−7.8 billion. Financing activities related primarily to the redemption of the hybrid note called in the first quarter of 2021, the dividend paid to the shareholders of Volkswagen AG and the issuance and redemption of bonds, as well as to changes in other financial liabilities. In the prior-year period, there had been a cash inflow of €7.6 billion to boost gross liquidity by placing hybrid bonds and issuing the green bond.

At the end of the reporting period, the Volkswagen Group reported cash and cash equivalents of €39.1 (33.4) billion in its cash flow statement.

At the end of December 2021, the Volkswagen Group’s net liquidity stood at €−136.6 billion, compared with €−137.4 billion at the end of 2020.

FINANCIAL POSITION IN THE PASSENGER CARS, COMMERCIAL VEHICLES AND POWER ENGINEERING BUSINESS AREAS FROM JANUARY 1 TO DECEMBER 31

€ million

 

2021

 

2020

 

 

 

 

 

Passenger Cars

 

 

 

 

Gross cash flow

 

26,221

 

21,823

Change in working capital

 

3,439

 

331

Cash flows from operating activities

 

29,659

 

22,154

Cash flows from investing activities attributable to operating activities

 

–19,266

 

–16,762

Net cash flow

 

10,393

 

5,392

 

 

 

 

 

Commercial Vehicles1

 

 

 

 

Gross cash flow

 

2,491

 

1,845

Change in working capital

 

–109

 

159

Cash flows from operating activities

 

2,382

 

2,004

Cash flows from investing activities attributable to operating activities

 

–4,453

 

–1,328

Net cash flow

 

–2,071

 

676

 

 

 

 

 

Power Engineering2

 

 

 

 

Gross cash flow

 

333

 

–25

Change in working capital

 

29

 

588

Cash flows from operating activities

 

362

 

562

Cash flows from investing activities attributable to operating activities

 

–74

 

–274

Net cash flow

 

287

 

289

1

From July 1, 2021, the figures include Navistar.

2

Figures up to October 2020 include Renk.

AUTOMOTIVE DIVISION NET CASH FLOW 2021

€ billion

Automotive division net cash flow (bar chart)
CASH FLOW STATEMENT BY DIVISION

 

 

VOLKSWAGEN GROUP

 

AUTOMOTIVE1

 

FINANCIAL SERVICES

€ million

 

2021

 

2020

 

2021

 

2020

 

2021

 

2020

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period

 

33,432

 

24,329

 

23,758

 

18,098

 

9,674

 

6,231

Earnings before tax

 

20,126

 

11,667

 

14,146

 

8,891

 

5,981

 

2,776

Income taxes paid

 

–4,216

 

–2,646

 

–3,329

 

–2,009

 

–887

 

–637

Depreciation and amortization expense2

 

27,473

 

27,069

 

18,378

 

17,798

 

9,094

 

9,272

Change in pension provisions

 

992

 

806

 

947

 

767

 

45

 

39

Share of the result of equity-accounted investments

 

787

 

536

 

839

 

584

 

–52

 

–48

Other noncash income/expense and reclassifications3

 

–1,473

 

–2,461

 

–1,938

 

–2,388

 

465

 

–73

Gross cash flow

 

43,690

 

34,971

 

29,044

 

23,642

 

14,646

 

11,329

Change in working capital

 

–5,056

 

–10,070

 

3,358

 

1,079

 

–8,415

 

–11,148

Change in inventories

 

2,110

 

1,334

 

624

 

1,406

 

1,486

 

–72

Change in receivables

 

1,888

 

712

 

421

 

45

 

1,466

 

668

Change in liabilities

 

1,856

 

540

 

2,009

 

–138

 

–153

 

678

Change in other provisions

 

951

 

–2

 

938

 

–214

 

14

 

211

Change in lease assets (excluding depreciation)

 

–16,205

 

–12,914

 

–536

 

52

 

–15,669

 

–12,966

Change in financial services receivables

 

4,345

 

260

 

–97

 

–72

 

4,442

 

332

Cash flows from operating activities

 

38,633

 

24,901

 

32,402

 

24,721

 

6,231

 

180

Cash flows from investing activities attributable to operating activities

 

–24,181

 

–18,372

 

–23,793

 

–18,364

 

–388

 

–8

of which: investments in property, plant and equipment, investment property and intangible assets, excluding capitalized development costs

 

–10,655

 

–11,273

 

–10,496

 

–11,065

 

–159

 

–208

capitalized development costs

 

–7,843

 

–6,473

 

–7,843

 

–6,473

 

 

acquisition and disposal of equity investments

 

–6,151

 

–1,037

 

–5,882

 

–1,188

 

–268

 

151

Net cash flow4

 

14,453

 

6,529

 

8,610

 

6,357

 

5,843

 

172

Change in investments in securities, loans and time deposits

 

–1,948

 

–4,319

 

–933

 

–3,015

 

–1,015

 

–1,304

Cash flows from investing activities

 

–26,128

 

–22,690

 

–24,726

 

–21,379

 

–1,403

 

–1,312

Cash flows from financing activities

 

–7,754

 

7,637

 

–7,375

 

2,938

 

–380

 

4,699

of which: capital transactions with noncontrolling interests

 

–590

 

–238

 

–590

 

–238

 

 

capital contributions/capital redemptions

 

–1,071

 

2,984

 

–1,575

 

2,952

 

504

 

33

MAN noncontrolling interest shareholders: compensation payments and acquisition of shares tendered

 

 

2

 

 

2

 

 

Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents

 

942

 

–745

 

839

 

–619

 

102

 

–125

Change of loss allowance within cash & cash equivalents

 

–1

 

–0

 

–1

 

–0

 

–0

 

0

Net change in cash and cash equivalents

 

5,691

 

9,103

 

1,141

 

5,660

 

4,550

 

3,443

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cash and cash equivalents at Dec. 315

 

39,123

 

33,432

 

24,899

 

23,758

 

14,224

 

9,674

Securities, loans and time deposits

 

34,515

 

32,645

 

16,200

 

15,868

 

18,314

 

16,777

Gross liquidity

 

73,637

 

66,078

 

41,099

 

39,626

 

32,539

 

26,451

Total third-party borrowings

 

–210,213

 

–203,457

 

–14,413

 

–12,830

 

–195,800

 

–190,627

Net liquidity6

 

–136,576

 

–137,380

 

26,685

 

26,796

 

–163,261

 

–164,176

1

Including allocation of consolidation adjustments between the Automotive and Financial Services divisions.

2

Net of impairment reversals.

3

These relate mainly to the fair value measurement of financial instruments and the reclassification of gains/losses on disposal of noncurrent assets and equity investments to investing activities.

4

Net cash flow: cash flows from operating activities, net of cash flows from investing activities attributable to operating activities (investing activities excluding change in investments in securities, loans and time deposits).

5

Cash and cash equivalents comprise cash at banks, checks, cash-in-hand and call deposits.

6

The total of cash, cash equivalents, securities, loans to affiliates and joint ventures as well as time deposits net of third-party borrowings (noncurrent and current financial liabilities).

Financial position of the Automotive Division

The Automotive Division recorded gross cash flow of €29.0 billion in fiscal year 2021, which exceeded the prior-year figure by €5.4 billion due to earnings-related reasons. The change in working capital amounted to €3.4 (1.1) billion. The rise of €2.3 billion compared with the previous year, which had been impacted more severely by the Covid-19 pandemic, was due to increases in liabilities and in other provisions, offset by a smaller decline in inventories.

In the reporting period, cash outflows attributable to the diesel issue were lower than in the previous year. This applies even if the inflows from the agreements regarding the settlement of damages are not taken into account. Consequently, cash flows from operating activities were up €7.7 billion on the previous year, to €32.4 billion.

Investing activities attributable to operating activities increased by €5.4 billion to €23.8 billion. Within this figure, investments in property, plant and equipment, investment property and intangible assets, excluding capitalized development costs (capex) decreased by €0.6 billion to €10.5 billion. Thanks to higher sales revenue and a decline in capital expenditure, the ratio of capex to sales revenue was down on the prior-year figure, at 5.1 (6.1) %. A considerable portion of capex was allocated to our production facilities and to models that we launched in 2021 or are planning to launch in 2022, or for which production is set to start. These are primarily vehicles in the ID. family and the new Taigo model, the Multivan T7, the next generation of the ŠKODA Fabia as well as the Enyaq, CUPRA Born, Audi Q4 e-tron, Audi A8, new model variants in the Bentley Bentayga and Flying Spur series, and the Porsche Taycan and the Porsche Macan. Other investment priorities include the electrification and digitalization of our products and our modular toolkits and platforms. Additions to capitalized development costs rose to €7.8 (6.5) billion in the reporting period. The “Acquisition and disposal of equity investments” item (M&A) expanded by €4.7 billion to €5.9 billion as a result of strategic investments in a number of companies, in particular Navistar, the associates Gotion High-Tech and Northvolt, and the joint venture Argo AI. In the prior-year period, this item had included the sale of the shares in Renk.

Despite the investment in Navistar (€−2.6 billion), the Automotive Division’s net cash flow of €8.6 billion in the period from January to December 2021 was €2.3 billion higher than the comparative figure for 2020.

In the reporting period, the financing activities of the Automotive Division resulted in a cash outflow of €−7.4 billion; in the prior-year period, there had been a cash inflow of €2.9 billion to boost gross liquidity through measures such as the placement of hybrid notes and the issuance of the green bond. The redemption of the hybrid note called in the first quarter of 2021 led to a cash outflow of around €−1.2 billion. A dividend totaling €2.4 billion was paid to the shareholders of Volkswagen AG in July 2021. Financing activities also include the issuance and redemption of bonds and changes in other financial liabilities. The “Transactions with noncontrolling interests” item includes the present value of the cash settlement for MAN noncontrolling interest shareholders in connection with the merger of MAN and TRATON; the settlement was paid at the beginning of September 2021. In the prior-year period, the transfer of all outstanding Audi shares to Volkswagen AG had been reported in this item.

At the end of the reporting year, the Automotive Division’s net liquidity was €26.7 billion, compared with €26.8 billion on December 31, 2020. With net liquidity almost unchanged and a noticeable increase in sales revenue, the Automotive Division’s net liquidity as a proportion of consolidated sales revenue declined to 10.7 (12.0) % in the reporting period.

Financial position in the Financial Services Division

In fiscal year 2021, the Financial Services Division generated gross cash flow of €14.6 (11.3) billion. The increase was mainly attributable to improved earnings. The change in working capital amounted to €−8.4 (−11.1) billion. A reduction of receivables and inventories were set against a rise in lease assets and led to a decrease in funds tied up in working capital compared with the prior-year period. Cash flows from operating activities went up by €6.1 billion to €6.2 billion.

Investing activities attributable to operating activities expanded to €0.4 (0.0) billion. The “Acquisition and disposal of equity investments” item went up in the reporting period as a result of strategic investments in a number of companies.

The Financial Services Division’s financing activities relate primarily to the issuance and redemption of bonds and other financial liabilities; there was a total cash outflow of €−0.4 billion in the reporting period. In the previous year, financing activities had accounted for cash inflows of €4.7 billion.

At the end of 2021, the Financial Services Division’s negative net liquidity, which is common in the industry, was €−163.3 billion, compared with €−164.2 billion on December 31, 2020.

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.