Hello and welcome on behalf of Audi AG to the annual press conference in 2022. It's great to have you with us today. We are broadcasting live from our studio on the Audi Piazza, so that means we are really close to the heart of Audi AG, close to our plant here in Ingolstadt, which you can see right behind me, to the building where we hand over new cars to our customers, and to our history in the form of our museum, our Museum Mobile. In the studio, we have our CEO, Markus Duesmann. Hello, Markus. Hello, and I would also like to bid you a very warm welcome to the annual press conference in 2022. Now, before we get started, let us take a brief look at what is coming up in the next one and a half hours. We will start with a talk with Markus Duesmann, and we will be looking back at the year 2021. Our CFO, Jürgen Rittersberger, will give you a detailed presentation of the financials of Audi AG. After this, we will again speak to Markus Duesmann, and then we will address the future and the future strategic orientation of Audi. We have something special for you, a premiere. We will be presenting the new A6 Avant e-tron concept. Last but not least, and that's something that you already know, the entire Audi board, the entire team on the Audi board, will be answering your questions, and all of them will be here with us live in the studio. You can already submit your questions right now and during the entire broadcast. Please use our microsite to submit your questions. If you joined us last time around already, you might have noticed that this time we changed the format slightly. This year's annual press conference is deliberately more interactive, and we also decided that the usual, well, videos and films where we look back at the year and the similar contributions will be dispensed with. In light of the current events, we have hope that you and our partners and our employees will be informed in an appropriate form on what we have achieved. Before we start with the annual press conference, Markus, let's address this topic, the war in Ukraine. Well, how can I say it? I guess we have little room left for other thoughts right now. Yes, absolutely. It's difficult for me to find the right words, but that decades later, after decades, that we should be seeing another war on such a scale with such high stakes, such a brutal war in Europe, this is an absolute tragedy. Shock and bewilderment are only two of the feelings I'm sure that many of us experience when we see the images from Eastern Europe, and I'm really struck by the enormity of human suffering there. I vehemently condemn any form of aggression and violence, and I do hope that we will manage to return to diplomacy as quickly as possible and make peace as soon as possible. Now, this debate about energy supply and also gas and oil from Russia shows just how dependent our economy has become on fossil fuels. That's absolutely right. Well, there's always a geostrategic significance of energy policy, and in Europe, we are now experiencing this in the worst possible way. Now, these dependencies on commodities, raw materials, and energy imports must be reduced by all means, and I support the German government's pragmatic decision with a view to supply security. At the same time, in the medium and long term, we need to make major investments in renewable energies. That was crystal clear before, and the current situation only underscores this need. Renewable energies are the energy of freedom. This is what our Finance Minister, Christian Lindner, said in a recent speech to the German parliament, and I'm with him on this point. We need new and sustainable solutions, and that brings me to my topic today. We, as an automotive manufacturer, have an enormous potential to make a contribution in the fight against global warming, and that's why we at Audi made a few landmark decisions last year. Now we are already looking back at last year since we are talking about 2021. How did you actually summarize the year? What's your summary for the year? How did you experience 2021? Right. The semiconductor shortage was a huge challenge for us in 2021. As a consequence of this, we missed out on producing hundreds of thousands of cars. The pandemic, of course, continued to be a major issue in 2021, even if it didn't require quite as much crisis management as the year before. Well, we'll hear this from Jürgen later on, but despite all of these challenges, Audi posted quite a good result. Yeah. That's right. That's right. Our key financials for 2021 prove that we are definitely on the right track here. In terms of operating profit and net cash flow, we actually broke records for Audi, record highs, and that was really an outstanding team performance that we are very proud of. After all, only a healthy car industry will be able to shape the sustainable future of mobility. We at Audi, we have pulled out all the stops to get through the pandemic in good shape and to live up to our responsibility as a driver of the economy and, of course, to safeguard jobs. Now, the good results, that's one thing, but what would you consider as the particular highlight of past year, the most important event? Now, one major step was definitely for us that we developed and also adopted our Vorsprung 2030 strategy last year. We also sent out a strong message last year by announcing our intention to phase out internal combustion engines. Overall, 2021 reinforced my belief that climate change is an even bigger threat to our planet than most of us might realize. The ramifications of increasingly extreme weather conditions became clear last summer in North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany. We saw the extreme flooding and the latest report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, published a few weeks ago, that left no doubt that we have to do something, we need to act. If we have to act, what is the role the automotive industry can play in this? What kind of action can it take here? Now, for me, it's important to say it's vital that the automotive industry, in terms of climate change, is not part of the problem, it's part of the solution. E-mobility is our way to play a role in the fight against global warming, while providing people with the freedom of individual mobility. Our e-tron models are the best proof of the fact that e-mobility can be really fun. Just think of the e-tron GT. This model was widely praised by the media, and it was praised by our customers and by the Audi fans. Well, thank you for the short summary. 2021 was a challenging year. I think we already said it at the same place last year about the year before. Dynamic developments, new challenges, but also challenges which we as a company helped us progress, also in terms of electric mobility. Let's see what your fellow board members have to say about it. Go ahead. With the Audi e-tron GT and Audi Q4 e-tron, we launched highly emotional cars last year, and they are going down well with our customers. The 58% increase in all electric vehicles in 2021 confirms that our early move towards zero-emission powertrains was the right decision. 2021 was a really special year when it comes to technical development at Audi, and for me personally. We gave a powerful boost to the transformation of our technical development. With systems engineering, we put vehicle development on a sound footing for the future. With our strategy, called Vorsprung 2030, we established very clear foundations for our setup in engineering. 2021 was a really challenging year. There was the COVID-19 pandemic, and there was the semiconductor shortage that we are still struggling with today. We successfully handled these tasks, and this has bonded us into a close-knit team. Despite all these challenges, we launched our qualification initiative in 2021. COVID-19 has completely changed the way we work, and it has accelerated the development of hybrid types of work. Last year, I had the opportunity to see the proverbial Audi spirit at work. Despite the supply shortage, we have weathered the semiconductor crisis well so far. We have successfully limited the impact on our production, and we have a very clear plan: share platforms and synergies across the entire group. This year will bring its own challenges. We will, of course, continue to do whatever it takes to stabilize the situation. I am very happy to have been on board since the first of February this year as the new board member responsible for production. I've taken over a highly motivated and dedicated team, who have done an excellent job in overcoming the challenges of 2021, the pandemic and the semiconductor shortage. Our plants are in full swing for the execution of our Roadmap E. Brussels and Neckarsulm are producing E vehicles, and Zwickau has been since last year with the Q4 e-tron. Ingolstadt is preparing for the launch of the Q6 e-tron. In China, we'll soon start building the first pure electric vehicle plant in Changchun. Right, Markus, you as a team on the board, you had to face lots of challenges, and you have to tackle challenges. You took quite a few decisions last year. What was the most important decision for you last year? If the automotive industry wants to remain the driving force behind Europe's economy, then we need clarity about technology, and that's why I would say the number one decision was our decision to phase out internal combustion engines, which I mentioned briefly earlier. This is the true launch of our transformation to electric mobility. It's a huge change, not just with regard to the product portfolio, but for the entire company, and it won't be complete until the early 2030s. It's a big change, and how does it become evident? Where is it reflected? What are the specifics? Now, in particular, in production. In Ingolstadt, in 2024, 2025 already, around half of all vehicles built will be all electric as early as 2024, 2025. From 2028, Ingolstadt will only build all-electric cars. From the middle of the decade, we'll also start to see all electric models at Neckarsulm. This transition will of course determine how we move forward at all plants. Customer demand is there, and it proves us right. Hildegard already mentioned it before. In 2021, we increased deliveries of our all-electric cars by almost 60%. Now, if you look beyond Audi to the entire car industry, so from your perspective as head of development in the group, now, what role can Audi and the Volkswagen Group play here? Now, we are absolutely certain that Audi, together with the group and its brands, can and will play a leading role in the new world of mobility. Most certainly so. The Group's NEW AUTO strategy puts us in an ideal position to do so. NEW AUTO creates an excellent framework for us to develop with the ambitious goals of Vorsprung 2030, and especially when it comes to the gigantic investments in software. We are very happy to be part of such a strong group. Another important thing we did last year was to fundamentally reorganize the collaboration within our brand group with Lamborghini, Bentley, and Ducati. Bentley has been fully integrated into Audi since the beginning of this year, and we have taken this as an opportunity to also step up our cooperation with Lamborghini and Ducati. As a brand group, we have set ourselves ambitious goals, and Jürgen Rittersberger will tell you more about these in a moment. Now, thank you for this quick review of the past year. Later on, we will also talk about the goals and plans for the future, ladies and gentlemen. With this, we move on to the second part of our press conference. Our CFO, Jürgen Rittersberger, will give you a detailed presentation of the financials of Audi AG. Over to you. Welcome to this year's annual press conference. Against the background of the current situation in Ukraine, the annual figures we're publishing today seem almost unimportant by comparison. The war in Ukraine, the suffering of the people, and the images we see every day on television affect and distress me and us as a company very much. Here at Audi, we have stopped all deliveries to Russia until further notice, and we are trying at the moment to do everything in our power to help Ukraine. We are naturally also dealing with the consequences for our company. Currently, our supply chains from Ukraine are heavily disrupted. We are, of course, trying to minimize the effects as much as possible. But right now it's too early to say what this will mean for the entire year. Now, there can be no right way of moving on to our subject for today. Let me simply say, we are here today to talk about the past fiscal year, and at least in this respect, we have good news today. 2021 was a turbulent year for our industry and for Audi. The greatest challenge was the worldwide shortage in semiconductors. The lack of semiconductors was especially difficult during the second half of the year, with noticeable effects on our volume numbers and financial figures. Unfortunately, the coronavirus pandemic continued to affect everyday life in 2021, and Audi was no exception. In addition, there was a rapid rise in energy and commodity prices. We responded quickly and decisively to these challenges and took active countermeasures. For example, we adapted our production to take account of semiconductor availability. We optimized use of our inventories of new vehicles to meet the high level of customer demand. We substantially improved our price position in markets, and we continued to work hard on our fixed costs. It is thanks to these measures, among others, that we can announce positive results today. Our operating result of EUR 5.5 billion is on an all-time high in the history of Audi. Our operating return on sales was 10.4%. The Audi brand delivered around 1.68 million cars, almost on a par with the previous year's volume. The trend during the year mirrored the semiconductor supply situation, and Audi has been working closely with the Volkswagen Group since the beginning of 2021 to limit the effects of the crisis. After the first two quarters, Audi was still on track to achieve record-breaking results. Deliveries were significantly higher than the prior year, compared with the prior year period, which had been hit particularly bad by the coronavirus pandemic. However, especially during the second half of the year, our countermeasures reached their limits. While the first half of the year benefited from a broad recovery in 2021, deliveries during the second half of the year dropped by around 29%. Towards the end of the year, the situation improved slightly with deliveries in November and December, each exceeding the previous month. Let me now talk about the deliveries by region. In the U.S., Audi managed to increase deliveries by 5% year-on-year. The most popular model was once again the Audi Q5, followed by the Audi Q3. With an increase of 53%, Audi sold more fully electric models in the United States than ever before. In Europe, we were almost on a par with the previous year. Audi recorded significant growth in France, Italy, and the United Kingdom. In contrast, the market in Germany declined, in part because of a one-time effect due to the reduction in VAT back in 2021. In China, which is our largest single market, Audi ended the year with around 701,000 deliveries, a decrease of 3.6% compared with the record year of 2020. The fourth year in particular was marked by semiconductor shortages for locally produced vehicles. On the other hand, there was strong growth in demand for our imported vehicles. In China as well, Audi is systematically committed to electric mobility, and the Audi FAW NEV Company will play a key role here in the future. Construction is set to start on the new factory in Changchun, which will have an annual capacity of more than 150,000 electric cars. Audi sold around 82,000 electric cars worldwide in 2021, which is an increase of 58%. Despite the semiconductor crisis, Audi is continuing to make substantial progress towards sustainable premium mobility. With the four new models, e-tron GT, RS e-tron GT, Q4 e-tron, and Q4 Sportback e-tron, Audi more than doubled its portfolio, its product portfolio of fully electric vehicles last year. The BEV share, in other words, fully electric vehicles as a percentage of total vehicles delivered, climbed from 3%-5%. The Audi Group generated revenue of EUR 53.1 billion. That is an increase of 6.2%. Despite a reduction in delivery volumes, improved price enforcement, in particular, played a role in this development. The fully electric models launched in 2021 and our genuine parts business also made a significant contribution to the increase in revenue. Now, one important element of our new strategy, Vorsprung 2030, is ESG. That is environment, social, and governance. I'll come back to this a little later. In the future, we will include ESG factors even more measurably and transparently in our key figures. One example is the measurement of sales according to the new EU Taxonomy, which Audi voluntarily discloses. In 2021, the respective sales share of total revenue amounted to 12.8%. Our operating profit reached EUR 5.5 billion. That is a new record and more than twice as much as the year before. Our operating return on sales amounted to 10.4%, following 5.1% in fiscal 2020, and thus lies clearly within our strategic target corridor. What were the drivers behind this result? With better price enforcement, we were able to make the best possible use of the favorable market environment and the good residual value situation. At EUR 3.2 billion, this effect was by far the most important profit driver in the 2021 fiscal year. Exchange rates and commodity hedging effects, particularly for aluminum, nickel, and copper, contributed EUR 0.8 billion to the increase in profit. On the other hand, higher prices for the procurement of raw materials had an impact on our product costs, causing them to deteriorate by EUR 0.6 billion year- on- year. The item fixed costs and other includes several effects. A significantly positive contribution was made by our continued cost discipline, for instance, in the area of overhead costs. This was countered by impacts from the extension of the early retirement program as part of Audi Zukunft. Moreover, performance-related remuneration rose in the wake of our record result. In addition, operating profit in the previous year had benefited from income of EUR 495 million from the sale of Autonomous Intelligent Driving GmbH. Furthermore, special items in connection with the diesel issue had a negative impact on our bottom line in the amount of EUR 48 million. Overall, we generated EUR 5.5 billion in operating profit and a return on sales of 10.4% on our books for fiscal year 2021. If we were to factor in our business in China, which is included in our financial result with more than EUR 1.1 billion, we would even have an operating margin of 12.4%-12.5%. The R&D ratio was 7.4% in the year under review, and thus slightly above our strategic target corridor of 6%-7%. This reflects higher upfront expenditures, especially in the areas of electrification and digitalization. A CapEx ratio of 3.8%, which is at the low prior year level, is an impressive example of our strict investment discipline, particularly in the area of structural investment. With our investment planning for the next five years, we're accelerating the transition to becoming a provider of connected and sustainable premium mobility. Based on our current planning round, we are earmarking around EUR 18 billion for electrification and hybridization for the years 2022- 2026. With a total investment of almost EUR 37 billion, around half of the upfront expenditure is going into these future-oriented fields. From 2026, all new models introduced on the market by the Audi brand will be fully electric. By then, we plan to expand our product portfolio to include more than 20 electric cars. A further EUR 3 billion will be spent on digitalization. In this future-oriented area, Audi benefits from the bundling of vehicle software expertise at our Volkswagen Group company, CARIAD With our investment planning, we are underscoring our commitment to innovation and driving forward our transformation. Audi has the necessary financial basis since net cash flow likewise set a new record at EUR 7.8 billion. The rise of almost 70% compared with the previous year is mainly due to the increase in profit and reflects the development in working capital in the wake of the semiconductor crisis. Our continued investment discipline also had a positive effect. 2021 was a year of major challenges for Audi. We were able to conclude the fiscal year with such strong operating performance in part due to our Ducati and Lamborghini brands. With almost 60,000 motorcycles sold worldwide, 2021 was the most successful year ever for Ducati. The delivery volume was up by almost a quarter year-on-year. Sales revenue also reached a new record high, up 30% to EUR 878 million thanks to favorable product mix and price effect. The operating result was EUR 61 million, corresponding to a return on sales of 7%. 2021 was also a very successful year for the Lamborghini brand. A total of 8,405 super sports cars were delivered, 13% more than in 2020, the highest number ever in the company's history. At EUR 1.9 billion, revenue was up almost 20% on the previous year. Lamborghini's operating profit, which we are reporting for the first time ever for fiscal 2021, was EUR 393 million. The operating return on sales was 20.2%. That was the 2021 fiscal year. For 2022 as well, we were initially very confident thanks to our attractive products, full order books, and a slightly improved semiconductor supply situation. What we could not possibly imagine was the war in Ukraine. It is just as impossible to predict at the moment how this conflict will continue to develop as to forecast the possible geopolitical and economic upheavals associated with it, such as prices for raw materials or energy, inflation, or the development of global GDP. Against this backdrop, we held serious discussions about whether a forecast makes sense at all at this point in time. At the beginning of the year, that is, before the war broke out, we planned to deliver between 1.8-1.9 million cars from the brand group in 2022, and we expected revenue of between EUR 62 billion and EUR 65 billion on that basis, as well as an operating return on sales of between 9%-11%. Within the Volkswagen Group, we are working across all divisions and brands to mitigate the consequences for our company of the war in Ukraine. As soon as we can reliably estimate the economic effects of the conflict, we will update our guidance. The Volkswagen Group has strengthened the role of the brand groups as independent operating units. The goal is to maximize synergies between the brand, the brands, without diluting their individual brand DNA. In this context, we will also increase our level of transparency and expand our communication to include selected performance indicators and also strategic commitments at brand level. From 2030, the Brand Group Premium is striving for an operating return on sales of more than 11%. Now till that time, the target corridor of 9%-11% continues to apply. The Audi brand is pursuing the same target. Lamborghini has impressed us all with outstanding growth in recent years with a level of return that is currently more than twice as high as in 2018. From 2030, a return on sales of more than 25% does seem ambitious but feasible. Until then, Lamborghini intends to reach a return on sales of 22%-25%. As for Ducati, it has the long-term potential for double-digit operating margins, and in the medium term, our goal is 8%-10%. Bentley has been part of the Audi Group since 1st of January, 2022, and the traditional British manufacturer is also pursuing ambitious performance targets. We will publish these in the first quarter of 2022 with full integration in our financial communication. Audi has big plans. We are pursuing ambitious targets for our returns, for our volumes, but above all, for the restructuring of our business model. We are rigorously converting our product portfolio in all core segments to electric cars. I am absolutely convinced that business success is inextricably linked with the assumption of social and ecological responsibility. As CFO, I am convinced that ESG represents, above all, an opportunity. We plan to take on even more responsibility for our employees and society, and set ourselves apart from the competition with this important endeavor. Audi already has net carbon neutral vehicle production at several sites. This will apply to all plants by 2025. Using the Decarbonization Index, or DCI, we control the CO2 emissions along the entire automotive value chain, from raw materials sourcing to production, and all the way down to vehicle operation and recycling. By 2030, we intend to reduce our DCI by 40% compared with the reference year, 2018. Since 2021, the DCI has therefore been an integral part of target achievement within the scope of management remuneration. In 2022, further sustainability key figures will be integrated into the remuneration system, for instance, the share of revenue according to the EU Taxonomy. Let me also say, for us, ESG goes beyond just measures and indicators for reducing CO2. We've always taken a holistic view of this in the company. How is Audi standing up for human rights in the supply chain? What's our vision of a circular economy? How do we put our corporate governance on a robust footing? How do we involve our workforce in the transformation? This is just a small selection of the important ESG questions that we take up openly and transparently in the Audi report published today. Audi also submits to external evaluation in all these areas. In the future, we will have our ESG performance rated by an independent rating agency. This concludes my remarks on the financial figures. Thank you very much. Markus, Jürgen gave us an outlook also relating to the ESG activities, but let's now take a look at the goals and milestones for 2022. All right. In 2022, we are starting to implement our Vorsprung 2030 strategy step by step. That's one of the most important messages, and Jürgen's presentation showed it. We don't just have specific action plans, but we also have the financial resources to implement them. E-mobility is by far the most efficient way to defossilize, and this is why we are expanding our portfolio to over 20 all-electric models by 2026. Now let's explore the topic of electromobility a little more. There are clear goals. They have been defined, but what is happening now in terms of implementation? What does it mean for the product portfolio? Audi already has a lineup of eight all-electric models, and we are expanding this portfolio further, of course, following the e-tron, the e-tron GT, the Q4 e-tron, and the two Chinese models, Q2 L e-tron and Q5 e-tron. Today, in just a few minutes, we will be presenting the world premiere of the Audi A6 Avant e-tron concept. With the production model to follow at a later date, we are expanding our e model portfolio in a segment which is crucial for us. From 2027, we will then offer e- cars in all core segments. Now, this morning you said systematic focus on electro mobility, but at the same time, we are still pulling out all the stops in developing the combustion models to be launched in the next few years. Yeah, exactly. That's, of course, part of our plan. Over the next few years, we will gradually launch the last model generations with enhanced and highly efficient internal combustion engines, including mild and plug-in hybrid variants. For example, the next generation of the A4 and A6 models. In this way, we are also making the transition to e-mobility more sustainable. Now, last year, when you developed the Vorsprung 2030 strategy, you, the entire team, assumed that China would be the last market for Audi, where you will still sell internal combustion engines according to your plans then. There, too, electrification is gaining momentum. Jürgen just mentioned it. A few weeks ago, I don't know exactly when, but we were able to conclude the planning and approval phase for the Audi FAW NEV Company. What's the next step now in China? Yeah, that's right. Our joint venture, NEVCo, plays a key role in our electrification strategy for China now. That's why we are so pleased that we reached this milestone in February. Now, with this important decision made, we can now go full steam ahead with the development of the company, and we can start construction for the new facility. We are investing a total of EUR 2.6 billion in this project, including the new plant. From late 2024 on, we will be launching, together with our partner FAW, the first locally produced e- models on the basis of the PPE on the Chinese market. Now, one thing we haven't announced so far is what are the specific models customers can expect then in China. Now, the first to be launched will be three models from the A6 e-tron and Q6 e-tron series. As early as this year, we are expanding our electric car portfolio with the Q4 e-tron and the Q5 e-tron, and this will be done on the basis of the group's modular E drive system. Later this year, the e-tron GT will follow as a vehicle import to China. In total, we will offer more than 10 all-electric models in China by 2026. This underscores our solid position in China, and we intend to grow it further together with our partners, FAW and SAIC. Let me go back. You said before, you talked about the brand group, and in January, Bentley joined the brand group. For the other brands in the brand group, the transition to e-mobility is a major top consideration. Now, of course, this is a course that we are charting together, but the timeframe and scope of electrification will vary among the brands. Audi is leading the way with phasing out the internal combustion engine, but Bentley is also accelerating its e-roadmap. Lamborghini will be offering its first all-electric model in the second half of the decade, and Ducati is currently testing new e-drives on the racetrack. Lamborghini and Bentley clearly stand to benefit from Audi in the transition to e-mobility because these brands would struggle to make the huge investments required for e-mobility on their own. Not just for our brand group, but in the entire group, the synergies from shared platform architectures for e-mobility will be leveraged in the entire group. Now, beyond the specific vehicle projects in the brand group, where do you see potential for synergies, particularly with Ducati? It's not necessarily self-explanatory. Now, that's true, but the motorcycle sector is facing exactly the same challenges as the automotive industry, namely digitalization and sustainability. Unlike in the automotive industry, however, there have been so far few regulations of fleet limits. We all believe that sustainability is absolutely essential for future viability, and Ducati is preparing accordingly to safeguard its business model. Generally speaking, I consider it crucial to see the brand's differences as some of their greatest strength. The other way around, how can actually Audi benefit from the brand group collaboration? Well, each brand has its very own unique expertise. Lamborghini, for example, in lightweight and super sports car construction, or Bentley in interiors and high-quality leather and wood workmanship or processing. Audi can certainly benefit from both of these. Beyond that, for the entire brand group, we see synergies in the ecosystem or the next iteration of our after-sales business. All in all, for the next few years, we expect synergies to reach an amount in the hundreds of millions of euros. Ecosystem. You just mentioned it, but particularly with electric mobility, completely new challenges will be coming up and new services will be related to electric mobility that we might be offering. Right. An important component of electric mobility is charging, and we have already successfully implemented it. Charging must be as simple as refueling, and ideally, and it's possible, it should be even more convenient than refueling. We successfully launched the pilot phase of our additional premium fast charging service, the Audi charging hub. The first pilot in Nuremberg delivered excellent results. This summer, and this is also fresh off the press today, we will be launching a second pilot in Zurich, where we will be trialing a slightly different concept without a lounge. Then we will take a decision on how to proceed with the project. We are already thinking ahead, and we will be creating a complete ecosystem for electric and automated cars. According to analysis available to us, by 2030 almost 30%, EUR 3.8 trillion of total industry sales will be attributable to services related to electric mobility. This is why we have developed a concise vision for an integrated ecosystem that seamlessly supports all key customer applications and, going forward, may even extend beyond mobility. Such an ecosystem, and you mentioned an amount, of course, comprises many different digital business models. Something that was much discussed by the automotive industry before, but the basis is powerful software. How can we build expertise in this area? It's clear, software is the lever for synergies and future innovations. Our group-owned software company, CARIAD, provides the basis for this. For us as a brand, working with CARIAD paves the way for data-driven business models. To facilitate this, we established a clear cooperation model between the brands and CARIAD, both strategically and formally last year. By 2030, digital business models are expected to make a substantial contribution to earnings. At that point, CARIAD may be the group's most valuable company. Either way, we now have the opportunity to fully leverage one of the Volkswagen Group's key competitive advantages in the digitalization of our products, namely, naturally, our size. We already talked about CARIAD now, and then, obviously, we should now talk about automated driving next. It's a technology which is also very important for you in your role as head of development on the Volkswagen Group board. Now, in the Volkswagen Group, we have several, well, different development activities. Could you just be more specific and explain the various types of development? Now, we take two different approaches, parallel approaches, within the group here. Depending on the area of application, at the Volkswagen Group, we envisage autonomous driving without a driver, primarily in connection with service models, in other words, shared mobility. Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles is responsible for developing the first robo shuttles and robo vans. The brand is collaborating with Ford and Argo AI to develop a self-driving system that will be able to take people or goods from A to B in urban environments. CARIAD, that's the second area of application. It develops assisted and automated driving functions up to level four for private mobility. This concerns vehicle ownership. We use these functions then in our cars at Audi. How will Audi customers then be able to experience this? Our Skysphere and Grandsphere concept vehicles that we showed in 2021 already give you an outlook on possible use cases and also the timeframe for more highly automated functionalities, and with this you mean beyond level two at Audi. At the Beijing Auto Show in April, we will be debuting the next concept car to illustrate our goals and visions. The first model from Project Artemis, the Audi Landjet, will have the technology on board for situation-dependent, autonomous driving. Now, if the car, or when it's operated on certain routes or under certain conditions and the driver then relinquishes responsibility, this opens up completely new possibilities for the interior. Yeah, that's right. Eventually, at some stage, also for the driver, but today above all for the passengers. One good example of this is holoride. This is a VR experience platform that will revolutionize in-car entertainment. Now, with holoride, we are the first manufacturer to bring a whole new entertainment category into the car. From summer 2022, this summer, passengers will, in our latest vehicles, be able to experience movies or games with a virtual reality set of virtual reality goggles even more realistically. The content will be adjusted to the car's movements in real time. Okay, thank you so much for this. I also tried it out myself, holoride. It's really cool. Now, ladies and gentlemen, as we've mentioned before, we have the premiere of the Audi A6 Avant e-tron concept for you. This is the Audi A6 Avant e-tron concept. A big step for us at Audi in the transformation towards e-mobility, and a very real glimpse of the near future. Let me promise you one thing, the production vehicle will be at least as beautiful. Attractive estate cars or station wagons are called Avant. This has been true for 45 years and will be in the future. The Audi A6 Avant e-tron concept combines three key success factors, a uniquely dynamic Audi design, a pioneering electric drive, and our innovative PPE platform technology. With the A6 Avant e-tron concept, we also offer a real glimpse at the later production version when it comes to the technical details. Our goal is a WLTP range of up to 700 km. Together with our high performance 800 V technology, we also keep the occasional recharging stops as short as possible. Our concept car shows already how this will work, with ingenious aerodynamics for high efficiency, a 100 kW battery for better range, a charge power rating of 270 kW for faster charging. Using a rapid charger, the A6 Avant e-tron concept will charge enough power for 300 km in only 10 minutes. That's perfect for grabbing a coffee and saves you a lot of time on long distances. The A6 Avant e-tron will be one of the first models with our new Premium Platform Electric, or PPE. This platform has been designed specifically with electric models in mind, offering several advantages, less weight, a better package, and better proportions of the body. With PPE, both SUV and low underbody models, such as Sportback or Avant, are possible. This flexibility allows us an enormous range from mid-segment to luxury. With the A6 Avant e-tron concept, we offer you a very real glimpse at the later production model and our new PPE technology platform. With dynamic design, a WLTP range of 700 km and typical Audi qualities, we electrify the 45-year-long success story of the Avant. Now we are back, and by now, the entire Audi Board of Management has joined us here in the studio. I'm going to introduce them later on. Before we do that, and before we move on to the Q&A session, I would like to hand over to our CEO once again, Markus Duesmann, for some concluding remarks. Markus. Now, when I joined Audi almost exactly two years ago, all of the assembly lines were at a standstill. The virus had arrived in Germany. Back then, we had shut down production to protect the health of our workforce during the onset of the pandemic. Over the past two years, the COVID pandemic has done away with many things we once considered a given. It has forced people to rethink what really matters to them. This also affects our working lives, our economy, as we can see in the United States, where a record number of people quit their jobs in 2021. Flexible and remote working have become even more important, and this is why we will retain these options for our employees. Now with the war in Ukraine, even more certainties have fallen away. We are learning through the worst case scenario that peace in Europe cannot be taken for granted, although I hope that we will be living in peace again soon. Today, many of the assembly lines here in our German production sites are once again at a standstill as we're dealing with the semiconductor shortage and the war, but we are doing everything in our power to get production up and running again very soon, and that's our responsibility for our employees. At the same time, these task forces and all the hustle and bustle feel unreal in the face of all the human suffering in Ukraine and of the refugees. The management board is proud of the great solidarity shown by our workforce in supporting the UN's refugee aid with an employee donation. Many thanks to the entire team for your contribution. Thank you, Markus. Now, these are times that remind us that it's the we that counts. That's important. It's always a bit difficult to change to a different topic here. Ladies and gentlemen, we now move to the Q&A session, and the entire managing board is here in the studio. I'd like to introduce them. First of all, on the left, Gerd Walker, who is new, and executive board member, board of management member for production and logistics. Then, of course, we've spoken to our CEO, Markus Duesmann. Jürgen Rittersberger was here before, still our board member responsible for finance and legal affairs. Then we have Sabine Maaßen for human resources and organization. Dirk Große-Loheide, board member responsible for procurement and IT. And last, but certainly not least, Oliver Hoffmann, responsible for technical development. Great to have you here. I guess otherwise Markus would have to take all the questions. Let me now turn to the questions, and I hope that you have used our microsite to send in questions. Send in your question, we'll receive it, and we will try to answer as many questions as possible. A number of questions have come in already. Let me just see. We'll start with a question of Harry Pretzlaff from Stuttgarter Zeitung. Great to have you here. The question is, how and until when will you be able to replace missing wire harnesses from Ukraine, replacing them with alternative sources? A question that came up earlier as well. Over to you. Okay. Yes, I can answer that. Markus Duesmann gave you all the assessment, our assessment on Ukraine, and I can only subscribe to that. You don't really know what to say, especially when speaking to our teams in Ukraine, people in Ukraine, in order to find solutions. Just to give you some perspective, 16,000 suppliers is what Audi has globally for cable harnesses. Our sources are mainly North Africa and in Eastern Europe, and of the 16,000, 18 are based in Ukraine. As a group, we have decided not to withdraw any contracts from Ukraine, so we are not resourcing completely. We're simply trying to organize everything we can, everything that still can be shipped from Ukraine. In parallel, we duplicate that production in other locations or markets, ensuring a reliable supply. This is working out quite well. In Romania, there has been some launch of that, and new production will also come online this week or next week. Yes, of course, it will continue to be a headache for a number of weeks to come. Thank you. Let me perhaps explain how this works. We are receiving quite a lot of questions on Ukraine, and I think this is a question that has come up repeatedly, so this answers many other similar questions as well. There's a question from China, which is for our CEO. Li Fusheng from China Daily is asking this question. Great to have you here. China is a very dynamic automotive market, and the manufacturers, the OEMs, adapt their production constantly to the market and to the competitive landscape. What are the goals of Audi in China in that context? Quite a comprehensive question. Markus, over to you. Of course, we have two strong partners with whom we've been cooperating wonderfully for many years. Audi has been committed in and to China for 30 years, and our development activities will be strengthened there to meet customer demands from China even faster. Second, we have the PPE campaign, and Audi NEV was established as a legal entity there. Fully electric models produced there, three in the first step, so our model initiative will be expanded and rolled out. By 2024, 11 new or reworked models will be available in the Chinese market. Thank you. The next question is from Matthew Guy, Postmedia in Canada. Thank you. I think it's a question, Oliver, that you are best placed to answer. This is about engineering, technical development. When you stop developing new combustion engines, how will that tie in with the North American markets t hat might have to be up against the replacement challenge by the year 2035. Would it be possible that you stop combustion engines sooner there? Well, let me perhaps start answering that. Markus Duesmann said that at the beginning. The future at Audi will be fully electric. BEV vehicles and battery electric drives are the future for several reasons, mainly efficiency and sustainability of mobility in the future. There will be a transition period, and this decade will be one of the most exciting ones in the history of automotive, and we will be an active part of that. In mid-2025, an updated generation of combustion engines will come. Part electric as well, mild hybrids and PHEV. Then these will come for the second half of the decade, clearly increasing the performance and the efficiency there. For the transition period, we'll have an extremely attractive portfolio, both on the combustion side with electrification and purely electric. Audi is well placed to make sure that we manage the transformation stage very actively and successfully. We want to play an active role in the transition, but all within our clear electric strategy. The next question, Gerd, is for you, I think, from Mexico. Derek Azuara. I hope I got the name right. Apologies if I didn't. What are the plans for electric mobility in Mexico for this 2022, for this year? I guess it's also a general question. We've got a great plant there, so electrification in Mexico. Well, our entire production network at Audi has been electrified. In 2018, we started in Brussels, producing the fully electric e-tron. In Neckarsulm, this was at the end of 2020, where the e-tron GT was produced, started to be produced. Step- by- step, for all plants and location at Audi, we will fully electrify our vehicle portfolio. Fully electric vehicles, that is. That is true for Mexico as well. Since 2019, the Q5 as a PHEV model has been produced as a partly electric vehicle. Mexico is very important to us, and the Q5 contributes strongly towards our volume. That is why our plan is for the mid of the decade to produce BEVs in Mexico as well. Our investment at Audi is between 2022 and 2026, EUR 18 billion. That's the investment between 2022 and 2026. Thank you. There are three or even four questions on e-fuels, alternative drives. Let me select one, and I'm hoping that this will also cover the others as well. Dr. Michael Haberland is asking, "Will Audi remain open to different technologies?" Markus, I guess that's for you. "Including existing drives and still climate friendly, for example, with e-fuels." So openness for different technologies and alternatives when moving towards e-mobility. Markus? Well, let me say what our clear focus is at Audi, and that is BEVs. That's a decision that has been taken, which is very clear. We are developing e-fuels in the corporate group. That's handled by Porsche, and they will play a role. The only way really to make sure that the existing fleet with internal combustion engines can be placed on a carbon neutral basis. In that sense, it's an important technology, but it's clearly less efficient than using power, storing it in a battery and using it for driving the car, because for e-fuels, you need a multiple of renewable energy to power the systems. We are open. General terms, yes, and e-fuels will play a role, but Audi is clearly based on BEVs. Thank you. Now let's perhaps move to some other geography. Christian Gleichauf. Great to have you. Heilbronner Stimme from Germany. Hildegard, I think that's a question for you. Could you quantify how the increased used car prices translate when it comes to the reselling of leasing cars that are sold back? Complex question. It could perhaps be a question for our CFO as well. Let me start by asking you, Hildegard. Thank you, Mr. Gleichauf. In principle, we can say that price enforcement is something that's working out quite well for us. Of course, supply and demand, the laws of that still apply and work in that favor, and our residual values can be strengthened or kept stable in that sense. Essentially, the number of used cars is declining, the inventory is declining as well, and with the reduced availability, we have the opportunity of keeping that part stable. Thank you. Let's turn to the next question. I guess it should be a question for our CEO, but let me ask Oliver Hoffmann, because it's a question that fits in with your track record as well as Audi Sports head. Felix Page from Autocar. From 2027, in all core segments, an e-vehicle will be in the portfolio. The TT, and there are eight sports cars, will they be core models? I guess a question about the successes to our sports cars, generally. Yes, in a very hidden way. Let me give you the following answer. It was part of our Audi strategy that we needed those vehicles, and we need to surprise people, and we did that with the TT and the R8. Nobody had expected those from Audi, so we surprised our customers, and we thrilled our customers for many years, which is even more important. The future will be fully electric. We intend to come up with some surprises again, and we are working on sports car concepts that will probably fully electric, however. All I can say is we will surprise and thrill you. Now, that's a more general question, so I believe, Markus, it's a question for you. Now, it's about the statement made three or four weeks ago when we announced that we were going to optimize our portfolio. This is a question from Ignacio Anzarraga. Sorry, I hope I pronounced it correctly. Now, the Audi A1 is built in the SEAT factory in Martorell, Spain, and production will be stopped, will be shut down, so once the current model generation is over. Is Spain a good site for car production? Are you considering to also build further cars in Spain in the future? Generally a question about portfolio optimization, and this goes to Markus. Now, the A1 is a wonderful car, and it's right in the middle of its life cycle, and we hope that for quite a while it will still perform quite successfully. There won't be a direct successor to it, but we are naturally evaluating and optimizing the production network, our worldwide production network. No decision has been taken yet which model will in future be built in Martorell and whether it's going to be an Audi or not, we don't know it at this point in time. Thank you. Sabine, this will be a question for you. Basically, there were two or three that related to the same kind of content and, of course, a lot of new support that we are supporting. We are supporting the sanctions against Russia. That's something I need to say, first of all. We got a question, and it was worded differently, but what can we do differently or in addition? What can we do in addition to all of this as a company? We installed a crisis management team, and they are addressing this topic. What can we do in addition, and what is the best help? The best help at the moment is money, donating money. In addition to the donations by the group that we mentioned before, the EUR 1 million for the UN refugee aid, there are further initiatives going on at Audi in addition. We see that our employees are also very much committed to this and see that they need to help here. Our employees can make donations and the group wide efforts to make donations. I think we already collected amount of more than EUR 1 million. We as a company, Audi, we also made an additional donation of EUR 1.25 million, particularly were given to Audi Hungaria. Because of the regional location. This will be used for regional projects, which we are supporting. Private donations, both from us and from our workforce at Audi, they were already made. There's a possibility to donate, and more than EUR 1 million has been raised already. Now, the next question goes to Markus. Coming back to the conversation we had before. This is about software. A question which comes from Carsten Lemmens from Belgium. Thank you for your question. Now, the automotive industry, when it comes to hardware and software, it's now entering new alliances with big techs like Google, Amazon, and, you know, particularly when it comes to autonomous driving, alliances, partnerships are becoming more and more important. Now, isn't there danger that these big tech companies might become too important and too powerful? Are they going to steal, nice way of saying it, the butter from your bread, as it were, when it comes to sharing the revenues or the partnering? Aren't they going to take most of the income or revenues away from you? Now, at the end of the day, you always need a car. You need the car as a hardware on which you can run your software and functions. In our group, we decided that all software activity should be pooled, should be combined at CARIAD. At CARIAD, the technology for the entire group is developed. We are large enough to really make this investment, and we also can scale it. We have economies of scale, and we are cooperating with Bosch, where we got additional knowhow that we can benefit from, but we don't see the danger that anybody is going to take away the profits from us. EUR 30 billion is going to be invested in software by 2026. These are tremendous amounts, and we believe that with this we can actually develop a lead. Okay, we go to Switzerland. Coming back to the charging hub which we referred to before. Herbert Schmidt from Neue Zürcher Zeitung is submitting the question. Thank you for your question. Now, can you tell us a bit more about the planned infrastructure concept of Audi in Zurich? Markus. Now, the pilot in Nuremberg was a very successful start. We got very good feedback. More than 2,000 charging sessions since December. I was there twice, and all of the slots were actually used, and it's a concept. The concept is that we offer quick charging in an area close to the city, and the second pilot is to be established in Zurich. We are buffering energy in second-life batteries, used batteries, and this means we don't pose a lot of burden on the grid and can offer a lot of charging power. In Zurich, there will be four terminals for charging without a lounge and up to a maximum of 320 kw charging power. Depending on how successful we can operate the Zurich concept, we will take further decisions. We have planned a couple of additional sites. We already prepare some of these additional sites. The next question. Jürgen, that's definitely a question for you. I read out the whole question before. I'm going to pose it now. It's Harry Pretzlaff once again. A follow-up question: To what extent have payments under social security contributions for short time work allowed you to improve your return figures in the past year? Now, the main drivers for our excellent result in 2021 were, first of all, our strong product substance and excellent price enforcement. We also consistently worked to reduce our fixed costs, and we also got some tailwind from our raw material hedging transactions and our currency hedging transactions. Now, the short-time allowance, this is covered by social security. It's a social security benefit, and its purpose is to compensate for any disruptions to the economic system, and it was exactly used for this purpose. That's what we did with the short-time working allowance, and it did help us to a certain extent to flexibly adjust our production. Over the past few years, to a major extent, we also paid into the social security schemes. As far as our profits and earnings are concerned, the short-term working allowance only plays a subordinate role. In 2021, by the way, we used fewer of these allowances than in 2020. Thank you, Jürgen. The next question relates to China, Markus, so I assume you might want to answer it. It comes from Bill Bossen. Thank you, Bill, for the question. Mr. Duesmann, there's a risk that the West, in the context of the Russia-Ukraine war conflict, that it might impose sanctions on China. What is Audi doing today to avoid or mitigate the risk arising from sanctions against China or possibly or minimize... How can you minimize the risk of an irrational step on the part of Beijing which would make it impossible for you to do business? This is the sphere of speculations, but nevertheless, short statement for Markus. Now, naturally, this is just, you know, speculating because we don't see any signs whatsoever at this point in time that sanctions could actually be imposed against China. Yeah, no matter where you have a crisis in the world We have to find a diplomatic solution. Sure, because of the war in Ukraine, some certainties have been lost, have fallen away. You never know what's going to happen next. At this point in time, we don't see any impact on our business in China. We've been in China for more than 30 years, and it's a very important market for us. We have lots of good partnerships in China, so we are really confident that this good cooperation will be maintained, the good cooperation that we have today. Thank you. The next question is for you, Hildegard. It's about the exhaust emissions fleet value from the RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland. You asked two other questions, two or three, but I think Dirk Große-Loheide, he answered them, the sourcing question. If we didn't, do ask them again, but this is a new question to me. Where does Audi stand in 2021 when it comes to the CO2 or emission fleet level in the EU, units per kilometer? Well, here you can clearly see that our early and bold decisions toward e-mobility proved their worth. We outperformed the EU targets, and that was also our shared goal because we believe that this is an important contribution that we have to make. Our e-mobility initiative contributed towards us achieving that objective. By 2026, more than 20 fully electric vehicles will be in the market, which means every year we expect to find it even easier to meet the fleet requirements. Thank you. The next question is from India. Hildegard, this is a question for you as well. Thank you for this question. The market performance of Audi in India is currently behind the top levels, the all-time high, time highs a few years back. What about the outlook of Audi for India? Have you taken a decision, or are you about to take a decision with respect to manufacturing electric cars in India? Quite a comprehensive question. Okay, let me not comment on production, but India as a market, in 2021, our volume was doubled there, but admittedly based on a relatively low starting level. We will continue to develop that, develop this in the medium term. This may not be the top priority market, but a very important market that we will serve with attractive models. Five electric vehicles have been launched since August, and electrification will continue until 2033 as planned. In that context, we will also review our India strategy in detail. Thank you. We have a number of questions. Let me try to combine them. John McElroy from Auto Express from the U.K. is asking a question which is for you, Markus, because it's about our product portfolio again. At the start of the year, you said that the Audi A1 will be discontinued and there won't be a successor to the Q2. Where do you see the lower end of the product range at Audi, the lowest viable level, so to speak? In a pure electric Audi product range, will there be enough room for the A3 successor as well, when you think that the current generation will need a successor in 2026 or 2027, or would need one? Well, let me say that we are many brands in the corporate group, and we decided that in the volume segment, there are four brands that represent the volume segment in an excellent way, and that Audi will strengthen the upper range. When it comes to the entry level, the A3 or the successor, that will probably be the entry level. Yes, I guess I can commit that from the A3 segment, all the way to the B segment, we will be offering a range. Okay. Well, the next question is for Oliver Hoffmann, I think at least. It's a question from Korea, Yun-sik Min. Thank you for that question. Solid state batteries are often seen as the future of electric vehicles. However, at least currently, there are disadvantages as well, longer charging times, et cetera. Where, what's Audi's position with respect to solid state? How do you see that technology? There were two or three other questions, but let me combine these into one. Solid state batteries. That should answer three questions. Well, actually, I will try to be even more general in my answer, especially when it comes to cell development. We strengthened our competencies and aligned our competencies in the group, very importantly, to achieve, scale effect and also make sure that vertical development of the cells and suppliers, and also securing supplies there are ensured vertically as well. In the group, we have quite other different levers to achieve that. On a group level, we are looking at which technologies will take us into the future. LFP, the lithium iron phosphate battery, then cell technologies as well, which is a technology that will be part of our PPE technology vehicles as well, where you will see it. I will start answering your specific question, solid state batteries. QuantumScape is our development partner there for the group, and that's where we're doing some investigating there. When do we expect that technology? It will be in the second half of the decade, and I expect smaller volumes. It won't be a large volume production technology that will come in the middle of this decade. We'll see some of this in the second half of the decade. In the group, we also opted for a streamlined, harmonized cell technology. In the Project Artemis, which customers will see in 2025, this harmonized cell format will be applied for the first time in a group vehicle. Audi has a pioneering role in that, and it also ties in with this unified technology in terms of achieving a volume effect as well. QuantumScape and development partners are something where solid-state batteries will form some part of this as well. Thank you. I think that covers three questions too, about the same subject. Now let's turn to another group of questions again. We talked about the continued electrification, Markus, but this question is for Sabine Maaßen. All in all, this is about not only the electric transformation and how it is shaped in the group, HR in particular, and the impact on HR. That's a question for you. Well, first of all, HR transformation as a concept. Transformation, reduction, and expansion are three tasks that we have to pursue at the same time to make sure that the transformation, or the transition rather, works out successfully. By 2025, 9,500 employees are in areas where we see headcount reductions. More than 2,000 are to be built up in other areas and the transformation part as well. EUR 500 million are to be spent by 2025 to make sure that all our HR is fully skilled, and another EUR 100 million for specific transformation and transition qualifications, because skills are key there. This is a socially acceptable headcount reduction program with early retirement program 2.0 this year. This has started out well, is on track, and from today's perspective, by the end of 2022, a large part of that program is to be achieved. Transformation and the skills training and qualification campaign will be the focus. More than 5,000 people participated in Germany in the central expansion areas, training and skills there, and the plan is to significantly increase this year. For 2022, the focus will be on qualification and skills, training our team. Of course, we'll also look at the skills that, where we'll have to recruit people potentially as well. Training and skills will be essential to make sure the transformation will be done successfully with respect to HR. Thank you. This brings us to the next question. Markus, we talked about this during our talk, so it's a question for you from Japan. Last summer, Audi announced its plan for full electrification, and you said that in China, combustion engines will be used and rely on for longer. As you saw, the BEV sales level saw a dramatic increase in the second half of the year. Will that mean that the discontinuation of combustion engines in China will be anticipated? We see that as well. The Chinese market is moving very fast, which makes it a perfect fit for our strategy, because we are saying e-mobility is the future. We see that as very encouraging. With FAW, we established the NEV company, the New Energy Vehicle joint venture, where purely electric vehicles will be offered through that company. It's my impression that we are ideally prepared, and we'll see what the next five-year plan says. The transformation will probably be accelerated, but we'll certainly benefit from that as well. Thomas Magenheim-Hörmann has a follow-up question, and I believe, Friedrich, the answer should be quick. How many cars has Audi sold most recently in Russia per year? 16,400 units, which we delivered, compared to the year before, +8%. In relation to our worldwide volume of deliveries, it's just 1%. As you know, currently, we stopped our vehicle exports to Russia. Thank you. Markus, we talked about the brand group before, and here is a question on electrification from Korea. In the Audi Group, there is a number of brands which find it difficult to do without internal combustion engines. Lamborghini and Bentley, for instance, should be difficult for them. The result will be electrification, but the spirit and the reality will be a different one. When do you think that the entire brand group, that all of the brands can be electrified, not just some of the brands? For how long, for how much longer will we still have internal combustion engines? The steps in electrification for our individual brands in our brand group. Markus? All right, electrification. Well, every brand has to address electrification. Nobody can go without it. The future is electric, and this also applies to the brands mentioned. This is why this network of our brands is so important, because for Bentley and Lamborghini on their own, switching over to electric vehicles, it would be something they would very much struggle to achieve. We have different speeds in the brands. Lamborghini, by 2026, is going to invest EUR 1.8 billion in new products, and some of this goes into electric vehicles, all will be electrified. Bentley, by 2030, will invest EUR 3 billion in the transformation towards electric mobility. Very consistent. Ducati, because of energy density, you know, waits for electric vehicles and also for electric motorcycles. It's an issue. Ducati, as of next year, 2023, will be starting to gather experience with electric drives. In the MotoE World Championship, all of these will be provided by Ducati. Electric driving on the racetrack on a motorcycle is something they are going to gather experience with, and Ducati will be prepared for electrification in this way. Thank you, Markus. Now, the next question, Gerd, this is definitely going to be a question for you now. It comes from Mexico once again. Do you have any plans for expanding your production in Mexico, in our plant? Will you expand production? Currently, we are producing the Q5 and the Q5 Sportback there. In Mexico, we have a very modern factory that we installed, and since 2019 it's been producing cars. We have a life cycle for our vehicles, which in terms of the capacity which is installed, that makes it possible to continue production with the installed capacity. As we mentioned before, now gradually we will be preparing for the switch to electric mobility, possibly in the next generations. We will also have to talk about the further plans for the factory. Currently there's no plan to expand or increase the capacity there. We have a question. A local question from Christian Tang. Thank you for your question. Hello, everyone. What is your current position with your hunt or chase or race with Tesla? In which areas is Tesla still leading, and what is the significance for you that Tesla is now also producing in Germany? Thank you. I think, Markus, it's a question for you. Quite a comprehensive question. A fundamental question concerning your competitive position and also relating to their sites or operations in Germany now. No, we are not hunting Tesla. We are not chasing Tesla, no. We are really trying to be at the forefront of technology. It's leadership through technology and quality is also very important, and also the dynamic handling and precision of a vehicle are also priorities. I believe with CARIAD and with all of the software expertise that we have in our group, we have an excellent prerequisite to make sure that the product substance, which you also need in future, should be just as high quality as in the past. As far as Germany is concerned, Germany as a site, Germany is a very important business location, and for us it's the most important one. In Germany, of course, we have to be cautious in terms of upcoming trends for energy prices. We have to get a handle on it. In the long term, Germany will remain a very attractive business location. This is where we have our know-how. This is where we have the soul of Audi, and we will definitely stay here. Now the next question, Jürgen, is definitely a question for you. It's once again about ESG and what the next steps will be in terms of ESG, because you already mentioned ESG in your presentation, but let's come back to it. Now, ESG is clearly a success factor for us. Now ESG is an opportunity, and with ESG we might be further distinguish ourselves from the competition. We might stand out from the competition. Let me repeat, ESG is a great opportunity for us. To be very specific, this year we will be working on our ESG management system so that ESG becomes even more deeply embedded in our product decisions, corporate decisions, in our services, and also in all our products. Well, of course it's important. There's a certain focus on climate protection. This is why we have the DCI, the Decarbonization Index, and this is also a component of our management innovation. The plan is that by 2030, compared to 2018, which is the year of reference, the DCI should be reduced by 40%. From my point of view, it's also extremely important that we should create transparency so that we become comparable in terms of ESG. This is why also in the future, we will then undergo independent ESG rating. We will open ourselves to rating agency, and we will ask for an ESG rating. Thank you. At the very beginning, we already had a question on the Ukraine crisis, and now we got a couple of additional questions on the Ukraine crisis, and I selected one which should more or less address or sum up most of the questions relating to Ukraine and the supply crisis. I think, Dirk, this is a question for you. What impact do you expect from the Ukraine crisis? Is it going to affect your business negatively? What are the current impacts you have from the crisis in addition to the microchip shortages which you have already? Is it going to be developed into the perfect storm? Now, thank you for your question. Now to respond to your question concerning Ukraine, I tried to give you the wider picture before, but now very specifically, this war has been going on for three weeks, and for about 10 days now, we've had shutdown in production, but we assume that we can open it up again at short notice, and it should be quite stable. Apart from that, there's a lot of uncertainty because it will take a while to have full production capacity in our duplicated facilities. We all know that there might be daily changes when it comes to supply from Ukraine. Let me be more specific on semiconductors. Now, the perfect storm actually happened last year. That's what we thought, but now we are learning that you can have several perfect storms in a row. Now, semiconductors were a massive issue for us last year, but I believe, or I know that, we have become much more stable. The semiconductor crisis is not over. We still have structural shortage of supply. In the first two months, up to the 24th of February, we managed with it very well. We had full supply for our production, and our production programs were stable. To me, this shows that, we are definitely not affected to the same extent by the semiconductor shortages, not as last year. It's going to be quite demanding by the end of the year. There will always be some shortage, but we can cope with it. I assume that, with the solutions that we found for the supply problems in Ukraine, we should also be stable in the second half of the year. We will address another question from Switzerland. Markus, since we talked about resources and similar things before, I'm going to give you this question. You should answer it. Now, since carbon neutrality also relates to the end of a vehicle's life, could a processing plant also be a consideration for Audi, just like for Renault? A recycling plant, in fact, for batteries, for instance, could that be a possibility for Audi? Yes, definitely. As we said before, batteries which have reached the end of their service life are still quite valuable, and you can use these batteries, for instance, as I mentioned before, for charging terminals where they could be installed, where you need batteries to have intermediate storage of energy to reduce the burden on the grid. At the real end of their lives, they can be recycled. There will be recycled batteries. To increase our know-how, we have a COE in Salzgitter that we founded centrally for the group, and we are really looking at circular economy topics, not only for batteries. We want to recycle materials, for instance, aluminum, which can be recycled, or any materials which are used for the interior, synthetic material for linings and panels. We have lots of activities going on there in terms of recycling, and it's certainly a major focus. Particularly when raw materials become more expensive, recycling becomes all the more interesting. Thank you. The next question goes to you, Hildegard. It's actually three questions combined into one. I would combine them and say simply: What about the plan for the future of sales? How long do you want my answer to be? Well, clearly the focus has to be on profitable growth. In 2021, Jürgen, you gave us the numbers. We were quite successful, improved how we shape growth in a profitable way. The strategy of the future for sales, I think there are clear areas of action. Human centricity, not only customer centricity, human centricity. The customer and the human needs as a starting point for our vehicle's technology and everything we do. The second area will be the strength of the brand, the Audi brand. We realigned the Audi brand with Living Progress. Future is an attitude. With those, we clearly showed that the brand is also changing. Sustainability, more modern. The third area, of course, is the portfolio. I think we have the most attractive product portfolio that we could ever wish. BEVs, ICEs, fantastic designs and stylings. I think the portfolio is something where everybody working in sales finds it really fun to work with. How we design and shape our business, work with our partners, dealers, the ecosystem, as you said, Markus, how do we build that? Digitalization of sales. Those are the drivers there. Digitalizations towards sustainability, the services portfolio and customer centricity from the human point of view, that's the key general focus for us. Thank you. One question, I'm not saying that I expected it, but well, motorsport, Peter Groschupf, that I'll give to Oliver Hoffmann. Peter Groschupf, what about the rumors, let me emphasize the word rumors, that Audi will enter Formula One? Oli? Well, it's a legitimate question. Motorsports, motor racing is part of the DNA of Audi. We've always been a pioneer, and with the Dakar Rally that we electrified, that is something where we're very proud of our commitment. The first one with electric drive system. We were the first ones with the result in the top ten. So that's a pioneering effort where I'm proud of our team and achievements. Of course, we look at the different series as well, make sure what ties in with our Vorsprung 2030 strategy. Formula One has taken some good decisions when it comes to their rules, especially towards more sustainability with the new 2026 approach. 50% electric vehicles in Formula One and a net carbon neutral fuel status. Those are decisions on the rules that we welcome very much. Our analysis is on a very wide range, and we're closely reviewing where we want to commit ourselves. Thank you. A number of other questions, and I think, Sabine, this would be perfect to hear an answer from your point of view. There is a subject that has been overshadowed a little, and that's the corona pandemic and crisis. There were some questions on it. If corona were over, and when it is over, hopefully, how will Audi work in terms of hybrid? How will collaboration work? What's our model going to be? Well, during the first stage of COVID, the COVID pandemic at the German locations of Audi, we had an agreement with all the employees on mobile working, and hybrid working, in a sense, was also covered by that. A lot of flexibility, no instructions, no firm commitments for certain days face-to-face. We always left it to the managers and the teams to agree on what's best. That was a good advantage, that flexibility, and we will use that for the future as well, because we are convinced that in future, collaboration will continue to be hybrid. For us, trust and also a sense of personal responsibility are two key factors. That's very much true for managers as well, because there will continue to be a mix of digital and face-to-face. Of course, we also looked at some good examples and lessons learned for the future. We established a project called Better Normal. The focus there is clearly and deliberately not only on office space or collaboration in all the indirect areas. No, we're also looking specifically at the options we have for shifts, the shop floor, that is, possibilities for digitalization and more flexibility in what to do with digital teams as well. Yes, many things, and hybrid working is something that will stay for Audi in the future as well. Thank you. Oli, back to you with another question. This is a question about our platform. With the PPE platform, Audi is developing a completely new technology for electric cars. I guess it's because of our premiere with the Audi A6 Avant e-tron concept today. Quite a mouthful. When will we see the first production cars based on PPE? Well, I'm as thrilled as you are about the Audi A6 Avant e-tron concept. A fantastic car, and it's really super close to the production version, as you saw in the video and heard. I'm also looking forward to the Q4 e-tron, where a pre-production will start here in Ingolstadt. It will be the first model based on the PPE platform, and also the low underbody vehicles that will follow, for which we showed you a very clear glimpse. The PPE is essential for our 2030 strategy. We developed a toolkit, this platform with Porsche for purely electric vehicles with a very clear structure and design as a purebred electric platform, advantages in terms of weight and also proportions. It's flexible. SUVs and low underbody sports cars from mid to luxury segment will be possible based on that platform. We have an extremely strong technology platform with 800 V power supply, 270 kW of charge power, and ranges in WLTP of up to 700 km. A wonderful technology, extremely efficient and good-looking, as you saw when seeing the A6 Avant e-tron concept. I certainly agree. Now for a question that was asked from different perspectives, and it's about sustainability. Sustainability in the supply chain. How does Audi ensure sustainability across the supply chain? Dirk, that will be a question which is perfect for you. No problem. Sustainability across the supply chain is a must, and hasn't been only since there's been legal rules about it. Audi has been a pioneer in the group, but also in the automotive industry, with its introduction of a sustainability rating. What does it mean? It means our entire supplier community has to commit to the same code of conduct in our supply chain agreements, the same agreement that we abide by. This is not only about sustainability in terms of the environment, but compliance with human rights as well, and all the rules and regulations that we base our work on as Audi in our culture. In the German Association of the Automotive Industry, VDA, we were also a pioneer in terms of monitoring and reviewing this across the supply chain, identifying and mitigating issues. For us, that's a key decision-making point in opting for a supplier, where the price, the quality, and of course, sustainability play an equal role. Thank you. Now for a question which is very specifically about the Indian market. Hildegard, could you perhaps answer this? Penetration of electric cars is something which is different from one region and country to the next. How do you see the role of certain newly industrialized countries or emerging markets such as India when it comes to the penetration of e-vehicles in the future? What about the growth prospects in India, and what about our electrification strategy in India? Well, fundamentally, we can clearly state that the transformation speed is different from one region or market to the next. Our job is to observe that very closely, assess it, and plan accordingly to see when the tipping points will be reached and become relevant in the different countries. I said that five electric vehicles in India have been launched, and it's clear that electric vehicles will be offered in India accordingly. You also know that our strategy means that by the year 2023, we'll be offering combustion engines, and from then on, only purely electric vehicles. Our strategy in India will be in line with that. Thank you. Let's turn to another follow-up question. I've received a signal that we've gone beyond schedule. In the interest of time, only two more questions that are probably easy to answer. One is from Nicholas Gibbs from the U.K. I hope it's easy to answer, at least. Hildegard, a question for you. Your average price in the year 2022, by how much has it increased? It will probably depend on the region. It's possibly related to the U.K. in this question, but generally, a question about our pricing. Let me first of all say that in this situation, but also before, we are pursuing a long-term premium pricing strategy. Have been, had that last year, and we'll continue that strategy this year. Of course, the current market situation lends itself and in terms of price development as well. When you look at our attractive portfolio, price enforcement is something that we can seem to do. Price is not everything. Incentives are also important to make sure they are brought down. Price and incentivization, in general, have to be right. Last year, I think we've been able to clean up a lot, done a lot of adjustments of our pricing, our premium pricing strategy, which has been strengthened accordingly. That is something that should stay and continue to be as sustainable as before. One last question, and of course, we will also try to answer all the other questions after the press conference. Before we heard about synthetic fuels, Markus, and since a number of questions have come in on that again, so we should speak about it some more. We've heard a lot about your plans for electric, battery electric vehicles, but do synthetic fuels have a potential for Audi, very specifically? The dream of hydrogen, is it dead? I think, to give some perspective of that might be useful. Well, let me say this. As a society, if purely renewable electric energy or primary energy is what we intend to use as the basis, then of course we have to see to it that individual mobility is fully in line with that. Efficiency is key. When the power is stored in a battery directly and then used for driving a car, that's most efficient. Of course, e-fuels will play some role in the future, but we have to remember that we have aviation as well. Aviation is not manageable with electric at the moment. It needs fuels, including e-fuels. We have ships as well. We have a lot of commercial vehicles as well, where battery electric vehicles will find it more difficult. In passenger cars, yes, electric will play a predominant role, the key role. In other areas, certainly hydrogen as well, and hydrogen is being developed on group levels. Hydrogen, we continue to look at. In commercial vehicles, it will probably play a bigger role than in passenger cars. We will see all of these technologies in commercial vehicles, some in passenger cars as well, but BEVs will be the key technology in the future. Markus, thank you very much. As I announced, this will close our annual press briefing for 2021 on 2021. Thank you very much for having joined us. Thank you to the entire board of management. Everything we've shown you today will also be available in our Audi Media Center quite soon, with some press material and a lot more information as well. It was great to have you. May you stay in good health, and bye, and [Non-English content].