Refinancing
REFINANCING STRUCTURE OF THE VOLKSWAGEN GROUP
as of December 31, 2021
High cash inflows from operating activities and the robust net liquidity position significantly reduced the transaction volume in the Automotive Division’s capital markets business year-on-year.
On February 11, 2022, the hybrid notes issued in March 2015 with a principal amount of €1.1 billion were canceled with effect from March 20, 2022.
Notes with a volume of CAD 1.0 billion were issued in the Canadian refinancing market. In addition, private placements in euros and Chinese yuan were issued under the automotive issuance program.
In March 2021, TRATON Finance Luxembourg S.A., an indirect subsidiary of TRATON SE, issued senior notes in the bond market with a total volume of €3.0 billion. In the remainder of the year, there were three private placements in euros. TRATON SE also borrowed €700 million through promissory note loans.
Official euro benchmark bonds with an aggregate volume of €8 billion were issued for the Financial Services Division. In addition to this, securities were issued in various currencies and regions.
Alongside the placement of senior, unsecured bonds, asset-backed securities (ABS) transactions were another element of our refinancing activities. In Europe, public ABS
transactions with a total volume of €2.75 billion were placed. Public ABS transactions were also issued in the USA, China, Japan, Australia and Brazil.
The Volkswagen Group was also actively involved in the commercial paper market with several issuing companies.
The proportion of fixed-rate instruments in the past year was about three times as high as the proportion of floating-rate instruments.
In our refinancing arrangements, we generally aim to exclude interest rate and currency risk as far as possible with the simultaneous use of derivatives.
The table below shows how our money and capital market programs were utilized as of December 31, 2021 and illustrates the financial flexibility of the Volkswagen Group:
Programs |
|
Authorized volume |
|
Amount utilized on Dec. 31, 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
|
|
Commercial paper |
|
44.4 |
|
8.1 |
Bonds |
|
175.0 |
|
95.2 |
of which hybrid issues |
|
|
|
14.3 |
Asset-backed securities |
|
93.5 |
|
46.0 |
Volkswagen AG’s syndicated credit line of €10.0 billion agreed in December 2019 was extended by one year to 2026 by making use of the second extension option.
This credit facility was unused as of the end of 2021.
In November 2021, Volkswagen AG concluded for the first time a loan with terms tied to achieving a sustainability target (sustainability linked loan). The interest rate on the three-year €1.8 billion agreement depends on the Volkswagen Group achieving its CO2 fleet emission target in Europe.
Of the syndicated credit lines with a total of €12.8 billion at other Group companies, €0.8 billion has been drawn down. The Volkswagen Group continued to have bilateral confirmed credit lines with national and international banks in various countries for a total of €5.6 billion, of which €0.7 billion was drawn down.