Road to riches for €17.5m VW chief
THE chief executive of Volkswagen received a €17.46m (£14.68m) pay package for last year after record results for Europe’s largest carmaker.
Martin Winterkorn (right) received the award, including a €1.89m base salary and a €11.04m bonus, after VW posted a €11.3bn operating profit, which it aims to match this year.
It also said 2012 sales will beat last year’s €159.3bn but the firm needs to recoup “substantial” development and start-up costs, Winterkorn added.
VW has not revealed the cost of launching its compact car technology but last September it said €62.4bn will be spent on factories, vehicles and development as part of its rolling five-year budget.
It has been boosted by the steady growth of car markets in Asia, the US and Latin America, which may help it to increase deliveries this year beyond the record 8.3m cars achieved in 2011.
It plans to roll out more than 40 new models or updated vehicles in 2012.