Independent auditor’s report on the remuneration report
To VOLKSWAGEN AKTIENGESELLSCHAFT
We have audited the attached remuneration report of VOLKSWAGEN AKTIENGESELLSCHAFT, Wolfsburg, prepared to comply with Sec. 162 AktG [“Aktiengesetz”: German Stock Corporation Act] for the fiscal year from 1 January to 31 December 2022 and the related disclosures.
Responsibilities of the executive directors and the Supervisory Board
The executive directors and the Supervisory Board of VOLKSWAGEN AKTIENGESELLSCHAFT are responsible for the preparation of the remuneration report and the related disclosures in compliance with the requirements of Sec. 162 AktG. In addition, the executive directors and the Supervisory Board are responsible for such internal control as they determine is necessary to enable the preparation of a remuneration report and the related disclosures that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.
Auditor’s responsibility
Our responsibility is to express an opinion on this remuneration report and the related disclosures based on our audit. We conducted our audit in compliance with German Generally Accepted Standards for Financial Statement Audits promulgated by the Institut der Wirtschaftsprüfer [Institute of Public Auditors in Germany] (IDW). Those standards require that we comply with ethical requirements and plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the remuneration report and the related disclosures are free from material misstatement.
An audit involves performing procedures to obtain audit evidence about the amounts in the remuneration report and the related disclosures. The procedures selected depend on the auditor’s judgment, including the assessment of the risks of material misstatement of the remuneration report and the related disclosures, whether due to fraud or error. In making those risk assessments, the auditor considers internal control relevant to the preparation of the remuneration report and the related disclosures in order to plan and perform audit procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the entity’s internal control. An audit also includes evaluating the accounting policies used and the reasonableness of accounting estimates made by the executive directors and the Supervisory Board, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the remuneration report and the related disclosures.
We believe that the evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.
Opinion
In our opinion, on the basis of the knowledge obtained in the audit, the remuneration report for the fiscal year from 1 January to 31 December 2022 and the related disclosures comply, in all material respects, with the financial reporting provisions of Sec. 162 AktG.
Other matter – formal audit of the remuneration report
The audit of the content of the remuneration report described in this auditor’s report comprises the formal audit of the remuneration report required by Sec. 162 (3) AktG and the issue of a report on this audit. As we are issuing an unqualified opinion on the audit of the content of the remuneration report, this also includes the opinion that the disclosures pursuant to Sec. 162 (1) and (2) AktG are made in the remuneration report in all material respects.
Limitation of liability
The “General Engagement Terms for Wirtschaftsprüfer and Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaften [German Public Auditors and Public Audit Firms]” as issued by the IDW on 1 January 2017, are applicable to this engagement and also govern our responsibility and liability to third parties in the context of this engagement (www.de.ey.com/general-engagement-terms).
Hanover, 3 March 2023
Ernst & Young GmbH
Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft
Matischiok
Wirtschaftsprüfer
[German Public Auditor]
Hantke
Wirtschaftsprüfer
[German Public Auditor]