Dividend Announcement

Notice is hereby given to shareholders that following a resolution passed at the Annual Ge­neral Meeting of shareholders held on April 24, 2008 a dividend for the financial year ended 31st December, 2007 will be paid, as from April 25, 2008 at the rate of      € 1.80 per eligible ordi­nary share and € 1.86 per eligible preferred share.

 

All payments will be subject to a deduction of German tax at a rate of 20 per cent and a "solidarity contribution" of 5.5 per cent on this amount and, in the absence of evidence as to the recipient's non-residence in the United Kingdom, a further deduction of United Kingdom income tax at a rate of 5 per cent.

 

The appointed paying agent in the United Kingdom is

 

Commerzbank London Branch

Corporates and Markets

60 Gracechurch Street

London

EC3V 0HR

 

Dividends will be paid in pounds sterling, calculated at the official current exchange rate to the euro.

 

Under certain conditions, shareholders residing in the United Kingdom can claim a partial refund of the deducted German tax and the "solidarity contribution" in accordance with the double taxation treaty between the United Kingdom and Germany. The German tax and the "solidarity contribution" are chargeable in accordance with that treaty is treated as a credit and can be set against the income tax liability of a shareholder resident in the United Kingdom. The Company's United Kingdom paying agent will, upon request, provide shareholders or their agents with the appropriate form to enable a refund request to be made to the German taxation authorities.

 

 

Wolfsburg, April 2008

The Board of Management