Volkswagen Bank celebrates 5 years operating in the Irish Market this month.

Since opening for business in 2008, Volkswagen Bank has provided Irish consumers car loans to the value of €500 million and injected almost €2 billion into the Irish economy in total. Consumer car loans in 2012 surpassed €125 million. 

Volkswagen Bank has supported Volkswagen’s growth through the provision of flexible finance packages, which contributed to the brand’s position as number one car brand in Ireland in 2012. It has also offered finance and supports to the Groups other brands Audi, Seat and Skoda.

Commenting on the milestone, Mutlu Gur, General Manager, Volkswagen Bank said, “We made a strategic decision to enter the consumer lending market in 2008 to support the growth of our business in this market. Irish consumers have had to look at alternatives to traditional financial institutions when it comes to financing their motoring. Volkswagen Bank has been in a position to deliver competitive and flexible finance options to consumers and businesses to meet their motoring needs. The finance packages offered by Volkswagen Bank have allowed our brands to continue to increase their share at a time when the industry was falling.”

Since opening in 2008, Volkswagen Bank has provided approximately €1.5 billion in working capital to local Irish businesses, through wholesale funding via the Volkswagen Group dealership network. Combined with retail lending the bank has injected over €2 billion into the Irish economy. 

Volkswagen bank now finances 25% of the cars sold by Volkswagen Group Ireland, increasing from a base of just 1% in 2008. The top five models financed by the bank in 2012 were the Volkswagen Golf (20%); Volkswagen Passat (10%); Volkswagen Polo (10%); Skoda Octavia (9%) and the Skoda Fabia (6%).