Porsche 2012 Annual Report Download - page 85

engine is installed in a longitudinal direction and
that feature rear-wheel drive in the base version.
Volkswagen is also systematically transferring
this modular concept to other areas of automotive
production. The Modular Infotainment System
(MIB) provides a variable hardware platform across
brands and vehicle classes for a wide variety of
infotainment features and individual designs. The
Modular Diesel System (MDB), which forms the
basis for the new, efficient and dynamic generation
of three- and four-cylinder diesel engines of the
Volkswagen group, debuted in 2012 in the new
Audi A3.
Pooling strengths with strategic alliances
Volkswagen continued the existing cooperation
arrangement with Daimler AG and Chrysler Group in
the fiscal year 2012. The Volkswagen group is sys-
tematically pressing ahead with the further research
and development of high-voltage battery systems
for plug-in hybrid drives and electric vehicles, while
entering into alliances with expert battery manufac-
turers; the company intensified these in 2012.
VOLKSWAGEN VARTA Microbattery Forschungs-
gesellschaft mbH & Co. KG, which the Volkswagen
group established in 2010 with its partner VARTA
Microbattery GmbH in Ellwangen, ramped up its
activities and started seeing very positive results in
the reporting period. It aims to research and devel-
op battery cells suitable for cars as well as the
associated production technology. The Volkswagen
group is expanding its expertise in the field of elec-
tric traction by cooperating with a large number of
universities.
Integration of external R&D expertise
In addition to the Volkswagen group’s own internal
resources, the expertise of its suppliers plays a key
role in the development process and will help the
company to systematically advance its new model
rollout in the coming years. The early-stage, close
collaboration between the internal and external
resources of the Volkswagen group guarantees that
the company can successfully complete projects
with the quality it expects in reduced development
times. The Volkswagen group is able to draw on
external expertise primarily in creative processes, as
well as in the area of virtual technologies and mega-
trends.
The Volkswagen group also uses external ca-
pacity for support services, downstream process-
es such as series management, and activities that
are not customer-facing but generate improve-
ments. In addition, the Volkswagen group is ex-
panding its cooperation with subsequent series
suppliers, as their expertise in the development
phase of modules and components is particularly
important.
Numerous patents submitted by employees
The large number and technical quality of the ideas
submitted in 2012 demonstrate once again that
Volkswagen group’s employees are an enormous
source of innovation. In the reporting period, they
applied for 4,313 patents – 2,128 in Germany and
2,185 abroad. The main focus of these innovations
was on the areas of modular infotainment, driver
assistance systems, electric drive technology and
lightweight steel design.
Research and development costs
In the fiscal year 2012, research costs and devel-
opment costs in the Volkswagen group totaled
9,515 million euro; in the fiscal year 2011, they
came to 7,203 million euro. Of these development
costs, a total of 2,615 million euro was capitalized
(comparative period: 1,666 million euro). The capi-
talization rate for the Volkswagen group was
27.5 percent in the period from 1 January to
31 December 2012, compared to 23.1 percent in
the prior year.
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