Volkswagen AG, Europe's largest car maker, has chosen to partner with one of the Philippines' largest and most respected business groups, Ayala Corporation. In a statement issued from its headquarters in Wolfsburg, Germany, Volkswagen announced the appointment of Ayala's wholly owned subsidiary, Ayala Automotive Holdings Corporation, as the Philippines distributor of Volkswagen passenger vehicles. This distributorship agreement brings together two premiere corporate names to compete in an industry with high growth potential.

Ayala Corporation President & COO Fernando Zobel de Ayala noted, "We are very excited to bring Volkswagen's technology and engineering expertise to the Philippine market. This partnership will no doubt enhance our current portfolio of auto brands given the dominant position of Volkswagen in the global automotive market. This will allow us to offer a much wider range of passenger vehicles in the local market, which will reinforce further Ayala's strong presence in the local automotive industry."

Weiming Soh, President, Commercial Operations, Greater China / ASEAN, Volkswagen AG, commented, "We are pleased to announce that Volkswagen has selected the Ayala Group as our future partner to distribute Volkswagen passenger vehicles in the Philippine market. Building on the Ayala Group's excellent reputation and market knowledge, we are excited about offering consumers in the Philippines Volkswagen's outstanding line-up of vehicles and providing them with an unparalleled levels of sales and service experience. As an important part of Volkswagen's ASEAN growth strategy, we, jointly with the Ayala Group, plan to rapidly and robustly establish the brand Volkswagen in the Philippines, contributing to our vision to be the world's number one car manufacturer by 2018."

The Volkswagen Group is the world's second largest automobile manufacturer as of 2011, with global sales of 8.265-million accounting for a 12.3-percent share of the passenger car market. Meanwhile, Ayala Automotive Holdings Corporation currently has interest in both Honda Cars Philippines and Isuzu Philippines Corporation. The company currently accounts for 51 percent of sales of the Honda network and 31 percent of total Isuzu sales.