OREANDA-NEWS. The Volkswagen Group presented the 2016 Volkswagen Group Award to its best suppliers in Berlin yesterday. Before an audience of some 240 guests from 24 countries, Matthias Muller, CEO of Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft, and Dr. Francisco Javier Garcia Sanz, Member of the Group Board of Management responsible for Procurement, handed over this year's awards to the Group's 21 best suppliers.

"In the new world of mobility, what counts is speed and flexibility, an innovative spirit and entrepreneurial courage, working in knowledge networks that do not stop at Group or industry boundaries. That is why we are opening up to new collaborations, and we are making cooperation with our existing partners more intensive, more highly innovative and more efficient", Muller said.

"We are on the cusp of a new era. The Volkswagen Group is realigning for the digital age together with its partners. We are working at full speed on digitalization, mobility services and e-mobility. It is essential that we address these future issues together with strong, competent and innovative partners", Garcia Sanz said during the ceremony.

It has become a tradition for the Volkswagen Group to honor its best suppliers for their entrepreneurial performance during the previous year. The award-winners are recognized for their innovative strength, product quality, development competence, sustainability and professional project management.

"This year, the Volkswagen Group Award is particularly important to me, not just because we are once again acknowledging our best business partners of the previous year, but above all because I would like thank you for your support during the recent challenging months. You have all proven there is a very close and good partnership between Volkswagen and its suppliers," Garcia Sanz told the guests, expressing his appreciation.

This year's event was held in e-Werk in Berlin, one of the oldest surviving examples of Germany's electricity industry and the origin of German mass-electrification.

The winners of the Volkswagen Group Award 2016 are:

Award-winner                                                      Country

Airtemp de Mexico S.A. de C.V.                              Mexico
Albano Cuzzuol S.A.                                              Argentina
Borbet GmbH                                                       Germany
Burmester Audisysteme GmbH                               Germany
Coindu S.A.                                                          Portugal
Continental AG                                                     Germany
Faurecia S.A.                                                        France
Federal-Mogul Corporation                                     USA
Formaplex Ltd.                                                     UK
Fuyao Glass Industry Group                                   China
Gestamp Automoci?n S.A.                                     Spain
Grakon LLC                                                          USA
Grupo Cosmos                                                      Spain
Keihin Thermal Technology Corporation                   Japan
LG Chem                                                              South Korea
LuK GmbH & Co. KG                                              Germany
Mobileye Vision Technologies                                  Israel
NVIDIA Corporation                                               USA
Polimeros del Uretano S.A. de C.V.                          Mexico
Samsung SDI                                                        South Korea
Vorwerk Autotec GmbH & Co. KG                            Germany