Quality Assurance
The quality of our products and services plays a key role in maintaining customer satisfaction. Customers are satisfied and loyal particularly when their expectations of a product or service are met or even exceeded. Appeal, reliability and service determine quality as it is perceived throughout the entire product experience. Our objective is to positively surprise our customers and inspire enthusiasm in all areas, and thus to win them over with our quality.
Digitalization was once again the beating heart of our work in the past fiscal year: We are continuously sharpening our focus on software-based system development, which is a critical factor for success in respect of customer satisfaction. Consistent application of the “Automotive SPICE” (Automotive Software Process Improvement and Capability Determination) process assessment model that we use to improve our processes is particularly important in our activities. It is a key building block for meeting the requirements of our customers as well as those of the regulatory and legislative bodies.
Group Quality Strategy
We review our New Quality functional area strategy periodically and coordinate it with the brands. Our actions are geared towards generating outstanding products, services and maximum levels of customer satisfaction. In line with the Group strategy, our quality strategy focuses primarily on achieving maximum levels of customer satisfaction throughout the entire customer experience – from ordering through to the digital ecosystem and up to the product as well as aftersales and customer service. The Group’s TOP 10 Quality program derived from the Group’s TOP 10 program represented one of our additional strategic targets in the reporting year. This program from Group Quality places a constant focus on internal and external customers, defines clear responsibilities for quality throughout the Group and coordinates an expeditious cooperation model between the Group, brand groups and brands. In the course of fiscal year 2025, six of the quality-specific action areas contributing to the Group’s TOP 10 program were completed and six new action areas launched (with customer satisfaction being one of the focal points).
Legal and Regulatory Compliance
The legal and regulatory compliance of our products is paramount in our work. We employ the principle of multiple-party verification in our processes – on a risk-based basis, relevant decisions are not made by individuals. Among other things, software development is accompanied by quality milestones at all brands. This principle applies to all systems, components and parts that directly influence a vehicle’s safety, type approval and functioning and therefore require particular vigilance. At the series production stage, we see to it that the conformity checks on our products are carried out and assessed. This applies in particular to checks related to emissions and fuel consumption.
We are also dedicating attention to our quality management system, reinforcing the interdisciplinary, process-driven approach throughout the Group. The quality management system in the Volkswagen Group is based on the ISO 9001 standard and the official type approval requirements. These standards and requirements must be complied with for us to obtain type approval for the manufacture and sale of our vehicles. We conducted numerous system audits in the reporting year to verify that our sites and brands continue to comply with these requirements. Particular focus was placed on assessing the risk of non-compliance with defined processes. Our quality management consultants pay attention to the implementation of and compliance with these and other new requirements, as well as official regulations; they are coordinated and supported in this endeavor by a central office in Group Quality.
Observing Regional Requirements
We use a variety of feedback instruments, such as specific customer surveys, to collect information on region-specific customer requirements. In addition, we monitor relevant internet forums and social media posts worldwide to obtain direct customer feedback and identify sentiment and trends at an early stage.
To achieve a perceived quality of our vehicles that is commensurate with that of our competitors, we take the needs of our regional customers into account in our vehicle audits. Every brand works together with the individual regions to decide how its product is to be positioned there. In this way, we strengthen the brands’ responsibility. Consistent quality benchmarks apply across all brands and regions to obtain comparable results from the vehicle audit. We are continually adapting these in line with changing requirements. For more than 40 years now, we have been deploying auditors around the world to assess, from the customer’s perspective, the vehicles that are ready for delivery and to ensure that these vehicles comply with the quality benchmarks defined.