Martin Hofmann, the Group’s CIO (Chief Information Officer) said in the Volkswagen communiqué that the new Lisbon software development centre was “a decisive step towards the future ".

"We are transferring the success story of our digital laboratories from Berlin to Portugal", Martin Hofmann said, adding that the objective was “to ally exciting tasks with the agile, most advanced work method in the IT sector".

Lisbon’s mayor, Fernando Medina, who was also quoted in the Volkswagen communiqué, said the arrival of this software development centre in Lisbon would help to “capture talent and create specialised work places in the digital and future mobility sectors".